Christmas Chaos
by aphrael21
Summary: Sequel to The Gift. Christmas Morning! What happens now that Joey knows about Seto and Téa? Chapter 18 is up and ready for reviewing! COMPLETE or is it?
1. How Time Flies

**How Time Flies…**

Sequel to "The Gift"

Disclaimer: Maybe I'll get some more cards for Christmas but I'll never own Yu-Gi-Oh. Sniff.

Oh yes, our favourite couple is back for more adventuring during this festive Christmas season. How long will their little secret remain a secret? What new troubles await them? Well, for starters - morning phone calls from friends, gift shopping in the mall, annoying little brothers that barge into **someone's** office unexpectedly… and we haven't even gotten to the party yet! Want to know more? Then read on and find out.

I apologize if it's a little rough in spots. It's been a while since I've done "fun" writing.

Yes, it's still fluffy time. And I've taken a few liberties with ages and what not. Yes, Seto is old enough to drive in this.

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Sunday, December 21st, 7:32 a.m. - 3 days until the Christmas party and counting.

Seto woke up smiling, feeling more refreshed than he had in a long time. Shifting a little in the semi-darkness, the smell of strawberries surrounded him and he inhaled deeply. Chocolate brown hair tickled his nose and chin and someone warm and soft pressed in closer to his chest.

The events of yesterday and last night played themselves again across his mind's eye. She'd been expecting him to come upstairs to her room. Shocked, to say the least, was his reaction. But he'd slept so comfortably and so well with her nestled in his arms that he wasn't looking forward to going home to spend his nights in his big, empty bed. Hell, he really didn't want to get out of **this **bed at all. Snug as a bug in a rug, his mother used to say as he smiled fondly at the memory. Then again, he had promised Téa breakfast. Seto gave the top of her tousled head a quick kiss as he gently disentangled his arms from around Téa's back. A low moan of protest passed across her lips as she tried to reclaim his warmth. Quietly, he slipped out of bed and tenderly tucked the pink and white comforter around her sleeping form. Half-lidded azure jewels peeked up at him over the edge of the blanket as he tucked a stray wisp of hair behind her ear.

The tips of his fingers caressed her cheek as he whispered, "Go back to sleep. It's still early." It still surprised him that she had touched him so deeply in so short a time period.

"Where are you going?" she asked, her voice thick with slumber, as she tried to untuck herself from the massive mess of pink and white. She failed miserably and flopped back down on the pillow, closing her eyes again.

"I promised you breakfast, remember?" He started for the door and heard a muffled mumble in response that mentioned something about snowballs and target practice if he didn't stop talking and get out. After that, no more discernible movement or sound came from the vicinity of the bed. Padding down the stairs in his socks, he grinned.

Téa Gardner was most definitely **not** a morning person.

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The sunlight caressed her cheeks as Téa slowly opened her eyes, blinking a couple of times to clear them. The comforter was still tucked snugly around her shoulders, just as Seto had left it.

'Seto?' she thought to herself, her heart starting to race. Where was he? She remembered inviting him into her bed last night, well, early this morning. He'd been so… so… shocked when she'd done that that she couldn't help but smile and giggle at the look she'd seen on his face. And then, a vague, foggy memory surfaced.

He'd gotten out of bed before her. Told her to go back to sleep. So, she had. Who was she to refuse an order that let her stay in bed longer? His warmth, though, was something she dearly missed. Last night was the first time she'd ever had anyone join her in bed. Except Yugi, but he didn't really count. He was her best friend. Had been for years. **But** her heart didn't do flip-flops when she thought about him like it did when Seto popped into her head.

Shuffling under the heavy blanket, she was about to go back to sleep, it was Sunday after all, when the aroma of fresh brewed coffee reached her nose. Inhaling appreciatively, she decided it was about time to get out of bed. There was only one person who could be brewing coffee at this hour in her house. It wasn't her parents! **And** he'd promised her breakfast.

Smiling happily, she hurried out of bed, threw her silk robe on again and padded off to the bathroom, still trying to put on her fuzzy, pink slippers.

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He heard her thumping down the stairs, the sound only slightly muffled by the fuzzy slippers he'd seen by her bed last night. Sure enough, two seconds later, her head popped around the corner into the kitchen to see what he was up to. She still had that sleepy look and her dishevelled hair had been pulled back into a neat ponytail. The necklace still glittered around her neck in the flood of mid-morning sunshine, the diamond reflecting rainbows onto the walls.

The sight that greeted her eyes was amazing. Seto stood at his favourite spot by the counter, sipping a cup of coffee, black, she remembered. He looked freshly shaved and his hair wasn't messy from sleeping all night. That was when she noticed the silver briefcase sitting on the floor next to the counter. That had definitely not been there last night. Must have grabbed it from his car, she thought. Probably kept a shaving kit and a few other things in there in case he got stuck at the office. The table was set, intimately, for two with a lit candle in the centre. A spray of fresh daffodils completed the look, the sunny yellow flowers highlighted by the light streaming in through the large window. A quick look outside showed her that at least another six inches of snow had fallen last night. Groan, another round of shovelling awaited her. Maybe she could talk Seto into joining her again.

"Morning, sleepyhead," Seto said, a smile gracing his lips as he took in the look of shock on her face this morning, for a change. Almost a-deer-caught-in-the-headlights look. Satisfaction rose in him as her open mouth changed to a delighted smile, her blue eyes beaming. He couldn't wait to see the expression on her face when she saw what else he'd been up to this morning.

"Good morning, Seto. Wow, where did you get the flowers from? They're beautiful! Could you get me a cup of coffee, pleeeeease?" Well, it was nice to see that once she was up, her bubbly personality was back in place and there was no more mention of target practice. Her step had a little more spring to it as she came fully into the kitchen while he poured her a cup of the steaming brew. Handing the mug to her, their fingers caressed in the middle of the exchange and both of them felt that now familiar jolt of heat at the contact. With slightly reddened cheeks, she murmured a quick thank you and proceeded to fix up her coffee. Just a splash of cream from the fridge and a spoon of sugar from the bowl on the counter with a quick stir to finish it off. She felt his eyes on her, following her every move around the kitchen, but she managed to, somehow, keep the blush from going to full bloom. One look from him and she went all weak in the knees, though.

"Tastes almost as good as mine," she complimented after taking a quick sip. "Now, I believe that last night you promised me breakfast…"

With a hopeful glance at him through her lash-lidded eyes, she saw him grin quickly, turning his head off to the side, obviously trying to smother it. She reminded him of Mokuba just then, and the puppy dog eyes he used to get what he wanted. "It's in the oven. Just needs a few more minutes to finish cooking," Seto replied, his blue eyes dancing with laughter as she sauntered towards him.

"I never ever, in my wildest dreams, thought this day would come," she commented, setting her mug down on the counter next to him. "Seto Kaiba, CEO of KaibaCorp., is cooking **me** breakfast. And you still haven't answered my question. Where did you get the flowers from at 9:30 am, on a Sunday, after a major snowstorm?"

"Being the CEO of one of the largest companies in the entire world has its perks," he replied slyly, his hands snaking around her waist and pulling her close. The damned robe was still too slippery but he made do. "Now, how about a good morning kiss?"

"Hmm, usually I have a coffee to wake me up. Let's see how this works instead," Téa said, linking her hands behind his back. He needed no more encouragement and proceeded to let his lips thoroughly wake her up. The soft moans and sighs from both of them were interspersed with the sounds of bubbling from the coffeemaker and sizzling from the oven. "Think I prefer coffee to that," she quipped when their lips broke apart.

Her smile was infectious and her tone was amused. His little laugh felt good. He hadn't been this happy in a long time. "I think breakfast should be ready. Just give me a minute to get it out of the oven. Have a seat at the table."

Picking up her mug, she settled herself in at the table as Seto put on a pair of oven mitts and pulled something out of the oven. Whatever it was, it smelled delicious. Her stomach rumbled loudly and amused laughter came from the vicinity of the oven as he picked up on it. "Hope you're hungry. I made a lot. Even Wheeler would want leftovers."

"Joey will eat anything. It smells great, though. What is it?" she asked, taking another sip of her coffee. He carried the pan over to the table and set it on the waiting trivets. Peeling off the foil, steam rose and she looked at the jumbled mess before her.

"It's my answer to your Dieter's Nightmare Lasagna. Breakfast Strata," he announced, putting the foil on the table and picking up a spatula. Her speculative look made him explain further. "It's a mixture of eggs, onions, peppers, bacon, ham and cheese layered on bread. Trust me. It tastes better than it looks."

"Well, it smells good at least." He dug out a piece and plopped it onto her plate. Unbelievably, it actually looked good as it sat there, cheese oozing all over her plate. Serving himself, he sat down and picked up his fork.

"Bon appetit," was all he said and took a huge bite. Mokuba would be jealous when he found out that he'd made this for her. Bringing leftovers home would be good. Téa took a much smaller bite and chewed it thoughtfully. Not half bad. Not bad at all, she decided. Definitely a recipe she wanted from him. And a few other things as well.

"Surprisingly, it's pretty good. It's just as sinful as my lasagna, I think. Thanks." Taking another bite, he savoured the look of delight on her face. It wasn't everyday that a CEO made breakfast for a cheerleader. Maybe that would change in the future.

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Breakfast continued without anything bad happening. Téa was too hungry to really talk much and Seto served her a second helping of his creation without hesitation. He'd scored some points with her here.

"That was amazing," Téa stated, getting up and making a move to pick up her plate. Seto beat her to it.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked, bringing both their plates over to the sink. She followed behind him, confused. What did **he** think **she** was doing? More like what did he think he was doing?

"Cleaning up. You made breakfast so I do the dishes," she explained, trying to muscle him out of the way of the sink. A gentle hip-check made him sidestep slightly but he didn't budge from his position. Putting in the plug, he turned the hot water on. She wasn't going to deter him from this.

"Thanks but no. I like washing dishes, crazy as that sounds," Seto replied, adding dish soap and watching the bubbles form. It was true. Washing dishes relaxed him. That was one way he got rid of stress, too. His housekeeper had sometimes come in and caught him washing every dish in the cupboard, even though there was a dishwasher and every dish was already spotless. Of course, she'd never breathed a word of it, just shook her head and let him continue. It was his house after all.

"If I'd known that, I would have let you do last night's dishes, too."

"What? And have Wheeler making fun of me? Not in this lifetime," he replied, shutting off the hot water and turning on the cold for a few seconds.

"Well, if you're going to do the dishes, I'd better get in gear and head outside to shovel all of that snow that fell last night. You could always come help me when you're finished in here," she commented, turning away and starting towards the stairs.

"Don't bother. It's already done." Her look of surprise was worth the small back ache he was suffering from shovelling that nasty white stuff again this morning.

"Have I told you you're amazing? You made breakfast, shovelled snow and now you're washing dishes. Will wonders never cease?" She shook her head. He had so much initiative in the morning. She certainly didn't. Then again, his company wouldn't be worth billions if he didn't.

"How else would I have gotten flowers delivered this morning and picked up my case from the car? You can thank me later," he replied, dunking his hands into the sink and swirling the water around. She shrugged her shoulders and started towards the stairs once more. At least she could put some clothes on instead of wandering around in her pyjamas all day, like she usually did.

"Sure you can handle it?" she questioned flirtatiously. Memories of last night flashed into his mind and he groaned softly. If she did **that** again, he really wouldn't survive. He was saved from answering by the phone.

**RIIIIIIIIING. RIIIIIIIIING!**

"That's probably Yugi," she said aloud, taking a detour towards the phone that hung on the wall. Seto stayed silent. The look in her eyes warned him not to make any jokes about the 'shrimp'. He smiled knowingly and turned back to the dishes in the sink, giving her some measure of privacy. Last night's dinner had mellowed him a little, a very little, towards her little gang of friends but they still weren't out of his bad books yet. No jokes, aloud at least.

"Hi, Yugi. What's up?" she answered brightly, twirling the long black phone cord between her fingers. Why was he calling so early in the morning? Hopefully, nothing was wrong. What was he doing up? He was notorious for sleeping in on Sundays since the shop didn't open until 12.

"Morning, Téa. Just called to see if you needed any help cleaning up after last night. I would have stayed but Grandpa needed my help getting a display ready for today's sale. He made me get up early to finish it with him," Yugi said on the other end. Yami had been, and was still, murmuring about the amount of snow that had fallen from the heavens last night for the last half hour. '_Yami, quiet already. You've been talking about nothing else since we got out of bed. Could I talk to Téa in peace at least?' _his mind voice asked a little exasperated at the Spirit.

'_My apologies, aibou, but this is something I have never seen before, even in my years as Pharaoh. There were tales, of course, of lands covered in white for half a year but…'_ the Spirit replied, a little miffed at his hikari's tone of voice.

'_Yami! Quiet or I'll tell Téa what happened when you tried to make cookies last week…'_ Yugi threatened. He wasn't one to do this on a regular basis but Yami was being annoying this morning. And all because of snow. Then again, simple things… Yami immediately quit thinking about snow and sat silently in a corner of his soul room with his arms folded across his chest. Yugi would have to apologize to him later. Maybe a trip to the bakery down the road for cream puffs would be enough.

Téa grinned. So there was a reason for him to get out of bed. That made more sense now. "No, it's all under control, Yugi. Just have to clean up a couple of loose ends in the kitchen. It won't take me long." She gave Seto a sidelong glance and saw him watching her intently.

She thought he was a loose end? Seto Kaiba was most definitely not a loose end. He'd show her he was a live wire. Wiping his hands dry on a dishtowel, he sauntered over to where she stood, standing just off to her side. She had a habit of walking and talking on the phone, it seemed, and she'd stopped under the lamp. Which still held the mistletoe. Would she never learn? This was the third time she'd gotten trapped under it.

Seto was going to have to thank Mokuba with a trip to the toy store for this one.

Téa eyed him warily. That gleam in his eyes suggested he was about to do something he wasn't going to regret. A grin spread over his lips as a simple but devastatingly wicked plan formed. 'No one said that the kiss had to be on the lips,' he remembered her saying last night. His eyes glanced upwards, making her look up as well. Gasp. Not again. And somehow, she knew exactly what he was about to do and, more importantly, why. Uh-oh.

"Well, if you're sure, Téa…" Yugi left the question hanging. She was being awfully quiet on the other end, which wasn't like her. Usually he couldn't get a word in edgewise.

With her hair up in a ponytail that left her beautiful neck exposed to his roaming lips, Seto let them skim over her creamy skin. His hands settled on her waist and she shivered a little as she couldn't help but lean against him.

Just concentrate on trying to have a normal conversation with Yugi. Pretend Seto wasn't there. Pretend that his warm breath wasn't turning her on. Pretend that just having him this close wasn't making her think about tearing off his clothes and getting him into a steamy bathroom… Concentrate! His mouth felt hot against her neck as he let his lips press down softly just behind her ear. "What was that, Yugi? I didn't quite catch what you just said," she managed to say, proud of herself for stammering only slightly. Another kiss a little further down made her hiss softly.

"Are you okay, Téa? Is something wrong?" Yugi asked, hearing a weird sound issuing from her end of the conversation.

"No, I'm fine. Just… um… cleaning up the sink. Got something stuck in it and it's not draining properly." Good cover, she thought, finally trying to shoo Seto away. He wasn't one to be driven from what he wanted to do, stubborn guy that he was. Smirking triumphantly, he placed a harder kiss on the base of her neck and gave it a little lick.

That's when everything started to go so wrong.

First, Téa gasped loudly into the phone. Yugi had no idea why.

And…

Seto's pants started to ring. Which Yugi heard over the phone. Something wasn't quite right in the Gardner residence and he was bound and determined to find out what.

"Téa? What's going on over there? Are you sure you're okay? Is someone over there with you? I just heard another phone ring…" Yugi started and Téa had to think fast. It wasn't that she didn't **want** to tell him about her and Seto but judging by just Joey's reaction to him yesterday, she didn't want to have to defend herself against whatever he might say over the phone. So she covered.

"I'm fine, Yugi. Kaiba just startled the hell out of me. I went to open the door to get the paper and there he was, standing there. It's his phone you heard ring." Seto was currently fumbling to get said phone out of his pocket. He was going to kill whoever was calling him.

"Kaiba? What's he doing over there?" Yugi asked. Something suspicious was going on. He just knew it. Even Yami was sitting up and paying more attention to the phone call. Or else he just wanted to hear Téa's voice better.

"Kaiba here. What do you want?" Seto asked coldly into the phone that he'd finally managed to get open. He didn't even look at the caller ID.

"Seto? Where are you? Did you go to the office today? You promised no more Sundays at work…" Mokuba started to say. He knew full well where his big brother was. He'd already called the office and security had assured him that the president of the company had not walked in yet, nor was he expected to. That left only one place he could be. And Mokuba couldn't have been happier. Of course, Seto had explained what was going on between him and Téa, after a lot of prodding, pleading and puppy dog eyes.

"Kaiba came by to… to pick up his wallet. I guess he left it on the counter last night and came by this morning to retrieve it." 'Please buy that,' she thought to herself. It was a pretty good story and it was half-true, at least. Only he'd left a lot more here than his wallet last night.

"You know where I am, Mokuba. I explained everything to you last night in the car," Seto replied, hearing the slyness in his younger brother's voice. How his brother had cajoled him into letting him in on what was going on between him and Téa was still a mystery. It had something to do with puppy dog eyes and sugar. Seto could never resist those eyes. And his mischievous little scamp of a younger brother knew exactly how to wield them as deadly weapons of mass manipulation.

"Are you sure everything is okay, Téa? He sounds kind of angry. He's not mouthing off to you, is he?" Now he was getting a little worried. Whomever Kaiba was talking to in the background was getting an earful, it seemed, and Yugi didn't want Téa to be caught in the backlash when he hung up the phone. At least he couldn't really hear **what** was being said.

"You must have went to Téa's pretty early this morning, huh, big bro. You weren't even here for breakfast. And guess what? Lois made Breakfast Strata today but it was nowhere near as good as when you make it." Mokuba must have eaten something else for him to get that high-pitched tone of voice. Seto was betting that he'd gotten in the Reese Puff's again.

If only Mokuba knew that he'd spent the night here, he'd be deliriously happy. Someone had implanted the idea in his young, impressionable mind that his brother needed a girlfriend and he'd been harping at him for months now. Well, at least he'd finally found one under his own free will. No more dinnertime talk about it anymore. No more sending him to his room for mentioning it once too often on the same night either.

"No, he's just talking to Mokuba. Really, Yugi, you act as if Kaiba is going to turn into a fire-breathing dragon any minute. He's not **that** bad, you know." So Seto's little brother knew about the two of them now, eh? It would have been hard for Seto to hide that from someone as nosy as Mokuba. She wished she could be as straight up with her friends but it would be better if she just eased them into it, bit by bit, over the next couple of weeks. At least that was the plan she was forming. Seto would probably agree with her.

Sometimes even the best-laid plans have wrenches thrown in them.

"I know he's not that bad but I just worry about you. If you're sure you're okay…" Yugi let the concern he felt colour his voice and she appreciated that he cared for her enough to voice that worry.

"Yes, I did leave early. You weren't even up yet for cartoons. I'll be home shortly." Seto loved his little brother dearly. Mokuba was the only family he had in the world and he'd die before he'd let anything bad happen to him but if he ate any more sugar today, the surprise trip to the toy store at the mall tomorrow was going to be cancelled. Seto could picture Mokuba just vibrating from whatever cereal he'd eaten for breakfast. Sigh.

"Okay, Yugi. I'll see you guys at the mall tomorrow, how about 4 o'clock at the food court, okay? You have to help me find something for your Grandpa. I never know what to get him. Okay, gotta go, bye." Yugi was such a sweet guy but so over-protective. If Seto ever did get out of line with her, well, she knew how to deal with that. She wasn't as defenceless as everyone thought. She hung the phone back up at the same time as Seto closed his cell phone. They both sighed in unison. Turning to face him, she saw his eyes lift skywards and he mouthed something that she couldn't really understand except for the word "sugar" – that one came out a little loudly. "So, I guess you have to go home. Did you really tell Mokuba about us?" Another sigh from him and his shoulders slumped a little.

"My little brother should be hired by the UN for any kind of negotiations. Those eyes of his would melt the heart of anyone he pointed them at." Seto laughed softly and heard Téa join in.

"Let me guess. He threw the 'look' at you and you caved, right?" Téa surmised.

"It wasn't just the 'look', it was the whole lead up to it as well. Mokuba is a very gifted child when it comes to getting what he wants," Seto replied, smiling. What a difference that made, she thought. His whole face lightened up and her heart skipped a beat or three.

"Maybe I'll have to get Mokuba to teach me that look," she said, her finger tapping her chin in thoughtfulness.

"You're already getting the hang of it. How else would you have gotten me to make breakfast for you?" Seto quipped as he got his silver briefcase from beside the counter. He really had to get going. Maybe, if he was lucky, he could get some work done at home on those reports and design specs. Assuming Mokuba didn't have any other plans for him today. Her laughter surrounded him as he turned around and stepped towards her.

"So I guess you have to get going now?" Her voice came out a little more softly than she'd intended. She really didn't want him to go home. Then she'd be all alone for the rest of the day. Well, there was more decorating to be done before the Christmas Eve party anyways. At least she'd have something to do.

"Unfortunately, work calls. I've taken two days off and if you expect me to be here for the party on the 24th, I have to get cracking on all the work that's been piling up on my desk at home. Listen, I'll call you later, though," Seto said, enfolding her with his one free arm. Leaning in close, he smelled her hair once more and felt her tilt up her head. A searing sensation burned through him as he felt her lips press in hard against the base of his neck.

"You better or you'll be in big trouble," she promised with a smile.

"If I don't get out of here now, I'm going to drag you back to that big bed upstairs." He grasped her small, warm hand in his and started towards the front door. He hadn't been kidding. Her robe had been slipping open a little and it afforded him a view of so many delights to come.

"Would that be so bad, Seto?" she asked, coyly, her eyebrows innocently arching up at him. Her eyes, her round, luminous, beautiful, blue, blue eyes, however, told him a different story. 'What had he gotten himself into?' he thought. Now he was waxing poetic about her eyes. He should have never told her that she had the 'look'. It got better every time she used it, too. He was having an extremely hard time resisting that temptation to drag her upstairs and do what he'd been dreaming about all night. Stopping at the front door, he let go of her hand, set down the briefcase and slipped his gravity-defying coat on before stepping into his shoes.

This was the hard part. Saying good-bye again. At least he'd get to kiss her today.

"That wouldn't be bad at all. Quite the contrary. But Mokuba is expecting me home soon and I have to keep my wits about me." Delighted laughter and glittering eyes swamped his senses and he fought the urge to take his coat off again.

"You always have your wits about you," she replied, her arms wrapping about his waist once more. He wasn't leaving without giving her a proper kiss good-bye this time. The muscles in his back tensed as he leaned lower and let his lips connect with hers. The intimate contact of tongues and lips had them both sighing once more. He never wanted to let her go.

"I really must get going. Call you later, Téa," Seto stated when they broke the kiss. She nodded her head silently and moved to open the door as he retrieved his briefcase.

"You better call me. I'm going to hold you to that. Verbal agreement," she quipped, her smile breaking through once more. He grinned at her and slipped out the door. Turning back once, she waved at him and shut the door.

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Wow, the start of the sequel ,finally. Hope you liked it. Hope it was worth the wait. Trust me, it gets better. Suspicions have already been planted and are growing nicely. Woohoo! Please leave a review and let me know what you think.

Aphrael21 ;)


	2. Fitting Rooms and Friends

**Chapter 2 – Fitting Rooms and Friends **

Ooo, shopping can be hazardous to your love life.

Let the mall-madness begin!

Disclaimer: Aww, c'mon, I still don't own them. Can wish that I did, though.

Merry Belated Christmas everyone!! Sorry it's taken me so long to update, but tis the season…

My chapters just keep getting longer and longer… sigh… and there really is no way to shorten them. Hope you enjoy!

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Monday, December 22nd 3:47 p.m. – 2 days until the Christmas Eve sleepover and counting.

Checking her watch, Téa saw that she still had a little less than fifteen minutes until she had to meet her friends at the food court. She'd told Yugi yesterday on the phone to meet at four o'clock. And knowing him as well as she did, he'd probably passed the message on to Joey and Tristan as well. It wouldn't be a good trip to the mall without those two clowns around.

That phone call. What a disaster that had turned into. It had been hard, very hard indeed, to concentrate when Seto had been kissing her neck and leaving her breathless with want. Usually, when she was on the phone, whoever was on the other end had a hard time getting a word in edgewise. Yugi knew something had been up when he'd had to carry the conversation but he hadn't tried to dig too deeply into what had been happening. Thank God, or she would have been in serious danger of being yelled at if she'd told him the **real** reason Seto had been there. The cover stories had been good enough but she was a little worried about what was going to happen when Yugi and her friends finally found out about her new relationship with Seto, that she was really crazy about him. Crazy was what they were going to call her all right, she thought wryly. The best way was still to ease them into it slowly.

Too bad a small wrench was about to be thrown into those plans.

She was close to the food court anyways, so she hoisted her bags once more and headed towards **The Gap** to do a little more shopping. Treating herself was a great idea since she still had to think about what she was going to get for Yugi's Grandpa, the only person she still didn't have a present for yet. Everyone else's presents, including a very special one for Seto, were well hidden in the three bags she was currently carrying. At least she'd been smart and left her coat at the charity check-in at the mall doors. Otherwise, she would have been too hot and bothered to continue shopping further. And the flush on her cheeks really had nothing to do with the heat in the mall either. Thoughts of Seto had caused that particular reaction.

The mall was packed full of people buying last minute presents for friends and loved ones. Gracefully dodging frazzled women admonishing screaming children, bored husbands holding purses and teenagers arguing about the latest fashions, she found herself in front of the racks by the fitting rooms that held hundreds of pairs of jeans. All colours, all styles, all sizes. She loved shopping for a new pair of jeans. The uniform she had to wear to school all the time just made it even more fun to shop for things to wear outside of the classroom.

Humming happily to herself, "Let It Snow" being the tune of choice, she dove into the racks and started to try to find jeans in her size. Amidst the moving and humming as she browsed the racks, she didn't notice that a pair of very distinctive blue eyes were watching her intently. And coming closer.

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_A few minutes earlier…_

Seto spotted Téa as she walked passed the toy store, where Mokuba was happily talking the ear off one of the sales associates. The sight of her jolted him and he couldn't help but continue staring at her as she walked on, oblivious to his attentions from inside of the store. Her long, brown hair was pulled back into two pigtails at the base of her neck and the crazy notion of pulling those elastics out and running his fingers through her mass of silk had him clenching his fists to stop himself from running out of the store after her. Long legs were clad in jeans that hugged her amazing figure and his eyes roamed upwards slowly, drinking in the sight of her. The green sweater she wore did nothing to hide the rest of her body from his gaze and he swallowed hard. That was definitely one present he would love to see under his tree this year. Dressed in nothing but a … Hmmm...

Mokuba noticed that he didn't have his brother's full attention anymore and peered out the window to see what Seto was staring at. Ah hah! Téa was walking passed the store and his brother's radar had tuned into her instead of him. If Seto had been a dog, his tongue would be lolling out, his tail would be wagging and his ears would be pricked forward. Or he'd be running after her and trying to jump her leg. Just picturing his brother like that made him grin devilishly. What to do now? Why, get his brother to follow after her, of course.

"Seto?" Mokuba asked, tugging on the lapel of Seto's trademark trench coat. "Wasn't that Téa that just walked by?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes it was." Looking down at his younger sibling, he became quickly aware of the beginning of the 'puppy dog eyes'. This could be bad. Very bad. A change of subject would be good right about now. "Now, have you decided on what you want, yet? I don't have all day to spend in a toy store, Mokuba."

"Weeeellllll…" Mokuba had to think fast. Seto had been going kind of crazy around the house since yesterday morning and he knew it had something to do with not being around Téa. Then Seto had come up with the offer of going to the toy store today with absolutely no reason given whatsoever. Mokuba was anything but blind. "I really wanted to try out the new video games that they have. Would that be all right, Seto? Then you could go say 'Hi' to Téa…" He threw his brother his most innocent expression, just shy of his puppy dog eyes. Even Roland, who stood behind and off to the side, was impressed. The poor sales girl just looked completely bewildered by the exchange happening before her. "I'll even stay here with Roland. And I promise I won't go anywhere else in the mall without you." That should be a good deal. Seto was always worried about him wandering away. But he was eleven years old, for Pete's sake! Too old to have a _babysitter_ with him all the time. Seto was always telling him that it was for his own protection and now he was going to use his brother's concern to get him to chase after the girl.

Mokuba was so happy that his brother had finally taken up his not-so-subtle hints about getting a girlfriend. And as an added bonus, he liked Téa. She was almost like a big sister to him. She'd saved his life a few times before, too, and that didn't hurt her in his eyes at all.

Seto narrowed his eyes and directed his steely gaze at the mistletoe hanging mischief-maker still peering up at him with the puppy dog eyes ready to be unleashed. Mokuba's ploy was see through and totally obvious but Seto appreciated that Mokuba was so approving of his choice for a female companion. "All right. You can stay and try out the video games but you have to remember to stay with Roland all of the time I'm gone. Pinkie swear with me." Seto held out his right hand, baby finger extended, towards Mokuba.

"Seto, I promised already… I won't leave the toy store until you come back…" Mokuba started, averting his gaze from the outstretched finger.

"Pinkie swear," Seto stated adamantly, shaking his finger in front the younger boy's violet-eyed gaze. This was the only way to ensure that Mokuba kept his word. The tradition for the pinkie swear dated all the way back to when Mokuba was old enough to walk and talk without falling over. A pinkie swear was never, ever broken.

"But Seto…"

"Mokuba," His gravely voice had dropped an octave and the glint in his eyes made refusal all but impossible.

"Okay, big brother," Mokuba replied, a little sullenly. It was all an act, of course. With the pinkie swear, Seto wouldn't be worrying about him and could concentrate his full attention on Téa. Extending his own pinkie finger, Mokuba entwined it with Seto's and they shook twice to seal the deal.

Seto's expression lightened as he ruffled Mokuba's wild black hair. "Thanks, Mokuba."

"So, can I have two toys then, instead of just one?"

"Don't press your luck," he replied with a smile before turning around and quickly walking out of the store. Darting through the crowds, he caught a glimpse of pigtails still ahead of him. Good, he hadn't lost her yet. If she'd popped into one of the stores that lined the hallway, he never would have had a chance of finding her.

What was he doing, chasing after her anyways? Usually it was the other way around. Women were always chasing him. Even now, he could hear the whispers as he almost trotted passed.

_"That's Seto Kaiba, CEO of KaibaCorp. What's **he** doing here?"_

_"He's so rich and hot, to boot…"_

_"How's my hair?"_

_"Heard he's an ice cube…"_

_"Who cares? With all that money, he could be a horse and I wouldn't care…"_

_"Think he'd notice me if I bumped into him 'accidentally'?"_

_"Kaiba? He's worth billions, I hear."_

If only they knew that he'd already found someone and that their pathetic attempts for catching his attention were useless, he smirked to himself, his eyes scanning the crowds ahead of him for another sight of her. There, in front of **The Gap**, she was stopped and looked to be checking her watch. Something triggered in Seto's memory, something about her phone call with Yugi yesterday morning. That's it. They were meeting her here this afternoon. Well, speak of the devil, he thought to himself. The geek squad had just entered in through one of the entrances by the food court. Now, with a little luck and a little speed, he could intercept her before they did – but he had to make sure **he** wasn't discovered just yet. Fingering his wallet in his pocket, Seto followed behind Téa a little more quickly, hoping to run into her before the 'gang' saw her. She headed into the store and his blue eyes followed her every movement until he finally caught up to her.

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A warm puff of breath at her ear brought her back down to earth and a strong hand at her elbow jolted her senses awake from the wave of heat that suddenly coursed through her.

"Come with me," a low voice whispered into her ear. Seto was wearing that aftershave again, she thought, the rush of heat she felt at his first touch renewing itself. The hand on her elbow guided her back towards the fitting rooms. Téa followed along silently and complacently, intrigued with his train of thought. That was just what she'd been thinking about but not for the express purpose of meeting him. The pairs of jeans she had hooked over her arm were all but forgotten as they walked through the curtain separating the fitting rooms from the rest of the store. But she hadn't expected to meet up with Seto today at all. How had he known where she was?

A flustered looking woman had just vacated one of the back fitting rooms and Seto grabbed the doorknob before it had a chance to lock itself shut. The woman brushed passed Téa and Seto, her wild eyes more concerned with finding a pair of pants that fit than in what a guy and a girl were doing near the fitting rooms together.

Before she knew what was really happening, Seto had steered the two of them inside and shut the door behind them. The door automatically locked and she noticed for the first time that the fitting rooms were private. **Very** private. The door went all the way to the floor and the walls extended all the way to the ceiling.

She smiled suddenly, too aware of his oh-so male presence so close to her, and snaked her arms around his neck after dropping the jeans and the rest of her shopping carelessly on the floor. There was nothing breakable in there at least. Their lips met somewhere in the middle and a sigh of relief from both of them broke through as their mouths caressed and tongues danced. Seto somehow managed to press her against one of the walls of the tiny room and his hands settled themselves at her waist as the kiss continued on for another moment or two.

"Hello, Téa," he said casually, once the kiss was done. Her blue eyes shone with laughter and he bit his lip to keep from laughing himself. What a situation they'd gotten themselves into. He hadn't been able to say "Hello" to her from the first. Just the sight of her had set his pulse racing and it had been too long since he'd kissed her that he couldn't stop himself. So, this was what liking someone felt like. An emotion he could get used to, he figured.

"Hi, Seto," she replied playfully, her smile widening, "Is that a duelling deck in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"

Soft, knowing laughter greeted her comment. "I'm happy to see you. What are you doing here, anyways? Thought you still had some things to get ready for the party."

"I'm meeting Yugi, Joey and Tristan for some shopping this afternoon. What are you doing here?"

He'd been right. The 'gang' was meeting her here somewhere to finish shopping for Christmas. "Mokuba's at the toy store. It was a surprise to him, especially with it being so close to Christmas and all." He leaned in closer to her and planted a kiss at the corner of her mouth. Her soft sigh encouraged him to continue and another kiss, a little lower down, followed the first.

"How long has it been?" she whispered breathily, her eyes closed in the wake of the passion he was beginning to stir inside of her. Kissing him like this in such a public place didn't hurt either. His trail of fire continued and he found once more that very sensitive spot behind her ear.

"Thirty hours, 16 minutes and I lost track of the seconds," Seto replied, letting his mouth wander further down her neck. She felt so… right… and warm… and soft… and perfect in his arms that he didn't want to let her go. Not now, not ever.

"Too long," she whispered back, her hands cupping his face. She needed to see his eyes. Wanted to see them blaze. And they did. Blue infernos raged as their lips met once more in a searing kiss. If this was what it was like during just a kiss, Téa couldn't wait to see the fireworks that would happen later.

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_Meanwhile…_

_Here comes that **small** wrench…_

"I swear, Yug, I just saw Téa go into **The Gap**. 'N' if I'm not mistaken, which I never am, Kaiba just went in there, too," Joey stated with utmost certainty. Kaiba had been almost decent to him at Téa's party on Saturday. Maybe, just maybe, there was hope for him yet. Nah… he was too much of an iceberg.

"Well, this is her favourite store. Maybe she's trying on some jeans or something." Tristan peered around the mall, trying to catch a glimpse of Téa. They were early in showing up at the mall and hadn't really expected to see her just yet, but he was going to scan around on the off chance she was having a snack. And he clearly hadn't seen what Joey had. "And, what would Kaiba be doing in here anyways, assuming your eyes, connected to that blonde mop of yours, weren't being fooled. I can't picture Kaiba here, pushing through the crowds a couple days before Christmas, just to buy some clothes. All those suits and shirts he wears are probably custom-tailored."

"Hey, quit it wit' de blonde jokes, already. One more 'n' I swear, Tristan…" Joey fumed at his best friend. Tristan and Yugi were both snickering behind their hands; Yami was a little confused as to the blonde reference and Yugi promised to explain it to him later. "What are you laughin' at, Yug? You're part blonde too or hadn't you noticed."

Laughter burst out between the three of them, with Yami still questioning what it was he was a part of, and took a couple of minutes to subside.

_"In our culture, Yami, people with blonde hair are supposed to be… well… stupid. I don't know how else to explain it. So, because of the blonde in our hair, Joey is implying…" Yugi started_. Maybe it was easier to explain now while it was fresh instead of waiting til later.

_"Joey is implying that we are stupid in turn." Yami finished. "But why would Joey do this? In my culture, I remember, those with blonde hair were greatly respected. It was a very rare colour of hair to have and those who possessed it were said to be the chosen of Ra himself. I myself named some of these 'blondes' to my highest councils and they were by no means stupid…"_

_"It was just a joke, Yami. See, we're all laughing at it. No harm done." Yugi answered. _Boy, was it ever hard to teach a 5000-year-old Pharaoh about modern culture. But it was slowly happening. At least he knew how to use the oven now. And that he wasn't supposed to put metal in the microwave. Sigh.

"You're right, Tristan. This **is** her favourite store. She probably did go in there, seeing as how we are a few minutes early," Yugi said, heading into **The Gap**. Joey and Tristan just looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders and followed in after him.

"Téa?! You in here?!" Joey hollered, oblivious to the startled looks of the frazzled women and bored husbands. This was the fastest way to find her. If she were here, she'd either answer back or come out and meet them. If not, they'd go back to the food court and wait for her while scarfing French fries and maybe a slice of pizza. One thing he knew about Téa, she was always on time.

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_Meanwhile… in the fitting rooms…_

Téa vaguely thought she heard someone holler her name. A very familiar voice too. But it was so hard to concentrate when Seto was gently nibbling on her earlobe. Shifting in his grasp, she felt him gasp as she pressed herself closer to him and returned the nibble.

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_Back in the main store…_

Tristan peered around the crowded store, looking for any telltale signs of his brunette friend but couldn't see her anywhere. Joey's way may be a little more direct, and slightly on the side of impolite, but it usually produced results.

"Tééééééaaaaaaa!" Joey shouted once more, this time with feeling. The admonished children began screaming once more and the dirty looks thrown at him by angry mothers should have been enough to have him blubbering on the floor like a baby, but again, Joey was completely oblivious, that is, until the store clerk came over to see what all the fuss was about.

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_Fitting rooms once more…_

"Seto?" Téa whispered softly to him. She hated interrupting him during his wonderful exploration of her neck but this time she really did hear her name being called. His warm sigh against the sensitive skin made her tingle all over and a second later, ocean blue eyes regarded her calmly.

"What?" he asked, concerned at the tone of voice she used. Something had startled her, he knew that much from the sudden tenseness in her shoulders and neck.

"I just heard someone yell my name. And it sounded like Joey," she replied, disengaging herself from his arms. With him so close to her, she couldn't think straight.

"And what would the mutt be doing in here looking for you?" That earned him a glare. He was going to have to learn to watch his mouth. That whole Niagara Falls and a stick thing again.

"I am supposed to meet them here for some shopping, remember? It wouldn't do for them to catch us together just yet. I think they came looking for me. Shoot! Am I late? I've never been late before." A quick glance down at her watch eased her mind. She still had seven minutes to somehow sneak out of here, get passed her friends and head for the food court. A plan that wouldn't work if it was Joey's voice she'd heard. He probably wasn't alone either. Yugi and Tristan were out there, too.

"Don't worry. It's all taken care of…" Seto replied and explained the situation.

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_Main store again…_

"Excuse me, **sir**, and I use the term lightly, just what do you think you are doing in the middle of my store?" she asked, annoyed at Joey's antics and more than slightly miffed at the renewed screaming. Joey and Tristan both turned towards her and the drooling was almost immediate. Yugi just sighed once more. The girl was tall, blonde and leggy, just the kind of girl both Joey and Tristan liked, and she had an attitude.

"Uh, we were uh just uh looking for my uh friend. Maybe you've uh seen her in here uh today?" Joey couldn't help the blush that flamed across his face as he spoke to the young woman, whose nametag read "Tracy". That was the first place his eyes settled, and didn't stray from, and that didn't help her mood at all, in the slightest. Tristan wasn't much better but at least he managed to look abashed when his gaze finally settled on hers.

"Well, what does this friend of yours look like? I know by now that her name is Téa since you've shouted it to the high heavens. Are you sure it was loud enough? I don't think the people across the city heard you," she smirked, hands folded across her chest, waiting for some kind of a reply from the idiot peace disturbers.

"Well, she's about this tall," Yugi started to say, indicating a person at least head and shoulders taller than him, "With long, brown hair and blue eyes, kind of thin…" He looked hopefully up at her. Even Yugi, and Yami, found her attractive. He just wasn't as obvious as the other two when it came to staring at her. He also had a much better vantage point than the other two, taller boys did.

Tracy hesitated for a split second before replying, "I've seen so many people come through here today that I don't think I would have recognized my own mother." With an apologetic smile, she turned and walked away, leaving Joey and Tristan to pick their jaws up off the floor. What Tracy neglected to mention was the crisp hundred-dollar bill Seto had slipped to her before he'd intercepted Téa. "We're not here," was all he'd whispered to her. Who was she to turn down such an easy hundred dollars? Especially considering that the pay at **The Gap** was crap and she had her heart set on buying her boyfriend a really nice sweater at **American Eagle. **

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_Meanwhile…_

"You gave her a hundred dollars to stop anyone who was asking about me?" Téa's amused giggle made him smile.

"Well, it had been thirty hours and some minutes since the last time I'd laid lips on you. I had to ensure that we could have some 'alone' time without your little friends interrupting us." She chuckled once more at the mischievous gleam in his eyes. "And you're right, I don't think that they would have liked finding us together as we were a moment ago."

"That doesn't solve my most immediate problem. I have to get out of here and to the food court in less than six minutes. And my 'little friends' would like to be your friends as well." He rolled his eyes once and she sighed. Stubborn guy, she thought.

"We'll wait for them to leave. Give it a couple of minutes and then we'll head out the back door here and to the front through another store. You can then head back to the food court and I'll get back to the toy store to find Mokuba. Heaven help that poor sales clerk. He ate Cinnamon Toast Crunch for breakfast." The plan was simple and easy to implement. It was **foolproof**. Not even Wheeler could ruin it.

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Joey, however, was not one to be deterred. "I **saw** her come in here. I swear it. C'mon guys, maybe she's in the fitting rooms. One more try and then we'll go to the food court and wait for her there."

"Joey, I don't think that's a good idea. What if that sales girl gets mad at you again? She could ban you from the mall and then how would you buy a present for Serenity and your mom." Yugi had a weird feeling about this. Something was not right with this situation either. Like the phone call he'd had with Téa yesterday. It was just… weird. What if Joey **had** seen Téa and Kaiba come in here? What was going on between those two?

"Not a prob, Yug. I'll just turn on de Wheeler charm 'n' everything will be okay," Joey answered, heading back towards the fitting rooms.

"Like you did just now? That was some charm, Joey. You had her wrapped around your finger with your "Uh's"", Tristan could barely stop the chuckle that was threatening to erupt in Joey's face.

"Hey, she jus' caught me off guard, dat's all. Dis time, I'm ready for her." Pushing the curtain aside, Joey inhaled deeply and yelled, "Téa! You in here?"

A chorus of startled shrieks at the unexpected yelling of a male voice spewed forth from most of the fitting rooms and a second clerk, emerging from the stock room door with her hands full of expensive merchandise, dropped her armload and jumped back in surprise, bumping against the door that led to Téa and Seto. Thank God for small miracles that Téa didn't cry out too loudly in surprise at the second attack.

"Sorry, folks, just lookin' fer my friend," Joey apologized. Maybe he had been wrong. Maybe it hadn't been her he'd seen come in here. She would have come out and met them by now. Huh, she'd probably be yelling his ear off, too.

"C'mon, Joey. She's not in here. Let's go now before you give someone a heart attack next." Tristan grabbed Joey's arm and forcibly dragged him out of the fitting room area. Yugi followed along behind, giving one last glance back to the last fitting room. He could have sworn he'd heard something from inside there. Shaking his head, he walked a little faster to catch up to Joey and Tristan. Some French fries would help to settle him down. Maybe he was just hungry. Yami agreed wholeheartedly on the idea of fries. With mayonnaise. Sigh.

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"Do you think they're gone yet? I have just under four minutes to get out there," Téa asked quietly. Hopefully her friends were gone by now. It was hard work, keeping a relationship with a certain CEO under wraps. And it was only the third day. What would the rest of the time be like? Maybe she should just come clean… and risk having Joey trying to beat the crap out of said CEO? Not ready for that yet.

"Don't worry. I know the back hallways of this place like the back of my hand," Seto replied, looking at the worried expression on her face. He tilted her chin up with his fingers and gave her a quick kiss. He really didn't want to stop but time seemed to be of the essence.

Seto cracked open the door of the fitting room and peered out, his blue eyes intently scanning the surrounding area. He heard Téa picking up her shopping bags and heard her sigh softly. A quick chuckle followed it.

"I never would have thought that the great Seto Kaiba was also adept at being sneaky. Is that something they teach you at CEO school?" Why did he know the back hallways of the mall?

"Being 'sneaky', as you put it, is essential to running a good business. And I know the back hallways for the usual reasons. Men in black suits and sunglasses following me, mothers throwing their daughters at me, that kind of thing." His wry smile told her that he was only half joking. About which part she wasn't sure. "All right. The coast is clear."

Opening the door further, he crept out quickly, almost expecting the mutt to come barging back in here. Téa followed close behind him and they made their way through the stock room door adjacent to their fitting room. Once they made it through there, they were home free, Seto thought.

"Three minutes," Téa called out softly. She felt like she was on some sort of commando mission. They ran through the back hallways, crouched down like they were trying to make it through heavy enemy fire or something. She giggled at the thought and Seto glanced back at her. Pausing at one of the open doors that lined this dimly lit counterpart, Seto hurried through one of them marked "Mark's Work Wearhouse". This store was close enough to the food court that she could quickly join the nerd herd and close enough to the toy store that Seto could make his way back to Mokuba, and his sugar rush, without them spotting him.

Téa stumbled into his back when he stopped suddenly. His hands grabbed her upper arms to steady her before she fell over into a pile of boxes. "I guess it's time to say goodbye again." Pulling her closer, he let his lips caress hers once more for a moment before they parted. Looking down at her, her pigtails danced enticingly along her shoulders as she breathed heavily. The scarlet blush on her cheeks made him smile. Every time they were together, she couldn't help it. He just brought out the passion in her.

"Call me later," she replied, letting her hand caress his cheek one last time before they had to part company.

"I called you last night, didn't I? Promise to call you in the morning," Seto replied. Last night's phone call had been…interesting. And it had kept him awake for half the night.

"Not too early, though." The scarlet refused to leave her cheeks as she thought about their little conversation last night. And it had kept her awake for most of the night.

"I know, sleepyhead." He grinned momentarily at her and ducked as her arm swung out. He caught it and brought her close once more. "Later." One more kiss, they had time for that. Just one, sweet little peck on the lips.

"Ah ah ah. I have to keep you wanting more." She pushed herself away from him, full of regrets but laughing at the surprised expression on his face. This must be the first time that anyone had ever turned down the CEO. And she'd done it twice. First with the snow wash and now this time. He looked so cute standing there, his mouth half open in surprise. "If you're not careful, your face will freeze like that."

"Haha, very funny. Now, let's go. You have about a minute and a half left." Kaiba grasped her hand in his and they walked through the storeroom together, avoiding the precariously balanced boxes, until they reached yet another set of fitting rooms. What a coincidence. Their heart rates finally slowed down and they walked casually through yet another curtain into the main area of the store.

"So, see you later, Seto," she said, looking up at him as she released his hand near the entrance to the mall hallway.

"Definitely, Téa," he replied and turned in the opposite direction to head back to the toy store and Mokuba. Hopefully, Roland hadn't had too much trouble controlling him in the toy store. When his little brother was on a sugar rush, it was hard to keep his mind occupied for too long. That's why Seto made him pinkie swear.

She snuck a look back and saw his trench coat flare behind him as he stalked down the hall to the toy store. 'Drama queen', she thought to herself and giggled as she headed quickly towards the food court. A glance at her watch showed that she was right on time. Perfect track record intact.

And there they were, her friends, seated around a table sharing a huge plate of French fries with ketchup, gravy and mayonnaise. Disgusting. All that fat and cholesterol they were happily consuming. They were going to eat themselves into a heart attack.

Well, no worse a reaction than when they found out about her and Seto. One disaster avoided.

_One small wrench down, one big one coming up._

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Whew, chapter two, finally finished. It took me a lot longer than I thought. And yes, I've taken some liberties with things. Hope you enjoy reading it. Can't wait for chapter three. Let's see where it takes us.

Aphrael21 ;)


	3. Christmas Eve Arrivals

**Chapter 3 – Christmas Eve Arrivals**

Sorry for the long time between updates and for all of the fluff. I was feeling kind of homesick when I wrote it and it made me feel better. Thanks for all of the great reviews. Now it really is time to get back to the plot… I've combined parts of my original chapter 3 with what I had written for chapter 4. The flashbacks are from chapter 3. And yes, I know I skipped a day. That chapter 3 was **complete fluff**. If you **really** want to read it, email me and I'll send it to you.

As the title states, it is now Christmas Eve and everyone is coming over for the party. What chaos ensues? Well, read on and find out.

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Wednesday, December 24, 5:59 p.m. Téa's house… Zero hour has arrived… The Christmas Eve party is about to begin…

**DING DONG DING DONG**

**DING DONG DING DONG**

Wow, they were actually on time, she thought. Not early and not late. Amazing. This should be one for the Guinness Book of World Records. Then again, it could have something to do with the fact that they had to bring their own food. She'd had enough of cooking for the last few days. Tonight's menu consisted of whatever they decided to bring to eat and share with everyone else. Her dessert currently sat in the fridge, the chocolate coating on the cheesecake needing a little bit of time to cool.

Taking a quick glance around the living room as she headed for the door, she could see that everything was in place. The decorations were all up, the tree was lit and the window looked great. The window. Hmm, she'd had fun doing that with Seto. And he and Mokuba were coming over shortly as well.

Opening the door, she stepped back quickly just as a red and green wrapped box fell right where she had been standing. "Hi guys," she said, brightly, ignoring the narrow escape. Probably one of Joey's, judging by the half a role of Scotch tape that covered the ends of it.

"Sorry 'bout dat, Téa," Joey apologized, scratching his head sheepishly as he grinned innocently at her. Of course, since he had to pick up the box, he was the first one through the door. And the first thing he did was check the couch in the living room.

"No problem, and Joey, he's not here yet." Téa grimaced slightly, knowing exactly what he was doing without having to take a look behind her, "He called and said he'd be a little late. They'll be here about 6:30 or so."

"Wait a sec… he has your phone numba'? What, didja give it t' him or sometin'?" Joey's eyebrows rose in question as he looked to her for an answer. Something about the trip at the mall was still bothering him. He **knew** he had seen Kaiba head into **The Gap**. Téa hadn't been very straightforward in her answers as well. Not that she'd been lying, but she hadn't told them everything. His sixth sense could notice these things. Too bad it didn't help him get girls more.

_Flashback… Domino Heights Mall… December 22, 3:59:59 p.m. in the food court…_

_And there they were, her friends, seated around a table sharing a huge plate of French fries with ketchup, gravy and mayonnaise. Disgusting. All that fat and cholesterol they were happily consuming. They were going to eat themselves into a heart attack._

_Well, no worse a reaction than when they found out about her and Seto. One disaster avoided._

_"Hey guys, sorry if I'm a little late. Got caught up in shopping and lost track of time." At least no one could comment on the rush of heat to her face since she was breathing a little heavy. Hopefully they thought that she'd run to meet them here._

_"Wa' so' pries?" Joey asked, his cheeks bulging like a squirrel's with his mouth full of food, which he sprayed on the table a little, as he talked._

_"Eww, Joey. Swallow first please." Téa gave him a disgusted look and he managed to look embarrassed as he hastily chewed his mouthful and swallowed._

_"Yeah, man. That's gross. Say it, don't spray it." Even Tristan, who was usually as manner less as Joey, found it sickening to watch the blonde haired teen devour fries and gravy. Yugi just sighed in exasperation. He loved Joey like a brother, but sometimes his manners truly left something to be desired. Yami locked himself in his soul room, muttering about the lack of grace, sophistication and elegance in the 'modern day'._

_"I said, 'Want some fries?'" Joey asked once more, his mouth now clear of any possible flying debris._

_"No thanks, I had a chicken sandwich and a salad earlier. So Yugi, what is a good idea for a present for your Grandpa. I can't think of anything to get him." Téa's winning smile didn't fool Yugi. She had deliberately changed the subject. Normally, she'd be ranting about what all of that grease was going to do to their arteries and such. Even though she liked fries as much as they did. Suspicions were still mounting. Something was going on._

_"Before we get to that, could you answer me one question?" Yugi asked as innocently as possible. She looked startled at his request but nodded her head, the blush finally receding from her cheeks as she took a seat at the table, placing her bags on the floor by her feet. Joey and Tristan leaned forward, ready to pounce on whatever Yugi had to say._

_"Were you just in **The Gap** doing some shopping?" Dead silence at the table. All French fry eating had stopped as they waited a second for Téa to respond. Think fast, she thought to herself. She didn't really want to lie to them, they were her best friends after all, but she didn't want them to find out about her and Seto this way either. What to do?_

_"Yeah, I wandered in there a little bit ago, but the screaming kids were too much for me to handle." It wasn't a total lie. The screaming kids had been annoying but she'd just tuned them out and concentrated on her shopping. And she hadn't said that she'd left the store either. That question was nicely handled. What else were they going to throw at her?_

_"Didja see Kaiba in der at all?" Joey asked, running his hand through his blonde mane. He **had** seen her. No more blonde jokes from Tristan about his hair colour from now on._

_"Kaiba? … No…Why?" Just an omission of truth here. She technically, very technically, hadn't 'seen' him in **The Gap**. Only in the fitting rooms. She'd known it was Seto by the smell of his aftershave. And they hadn't asked about the fitting rooms themselves, just **The Gap**. Yugi's eyebrows narrowed. He could tell she was hiding something. At least she wasn't lying, not directly anyways. The shifty eyes would have been a dead giveaway, except when they played cards. She ruled at the 'poker face'._

_"Are you sure, cuz Joey swears that he saw you and Kaiba walk in there…?" Tristan added. Great, no more joking about Joey's blonde nature. Not like that was a big loss. There was always his stuttering in front of girls, his lack of manners, his fashion sense, his haircut – or lack of one… the list was endless._

_"I think I'd know Kaiba if I saw him, don't you Tristan, after all of the crazy stuff that's happened to us over the last few years?" She looked him pointedly in the eyes and he had to turn away from the intense look she gave him. He hadn't meant it to sound like an accusation against her. Sigh. Dealing with girls was never easy. "Now, Yugi, if you could answer MY question for a change… what's with the questions today anyways?" She gave each one of them a good, long stare before Joey finally swallowed and opened his mouth to speak._

_"Well, it just… it seemed…" Joey started to say. There really was no nice way to phrase it so he blurted it out. "We tink dat Kaiba is harassing you. I mean, de way he jus' showed up at yer house de other day. And I tought I'd seen him head inta **The Gap** jus' a minute or two afta you did. So… is he? Harassing you I mean?"_

_"Kaiba is by no means 'harassing me'. If he was, don't you think you'd know about it by now? Besides, I think that I can handle him. He doesn't scare me. You all act as if he's going to turn into an evil monster or something and try to eat me. He's not **that** bad. You just have to know how to deal with him." Total truth here. He wasn't harassing her or bothering her in any way, except for the way she reacted to his presence. And she didn't consider that harassment at all. She knew exactly how to 'deal with him' as well. Téa hoped they bought it and just dropped the whole twenty questions game with her. She was running out of omissions of truth to give them. They were getting way too close to the mark._

_"Okay Téa, it's just that we're worried about you. You will tell us if he ever bothers you though, won't you?" Yugi's voice was soft. Whatever she wanted to hide was her own business. It probably had something to do with Christmas presents anyways. He certainly didn't tell her everything that was happening in his life. Only the stuff that dealt with having to save the world and all._

_End flashback…_

"Well, duh, it is listed in the phone book. I'm not that hard to get a hold of," she replied. Joey rolled his eyes and breezed passed her into the living room, carrying an armload of presents, including the one he'd picked up, and a backpack on his shoulder. Everything he needed for a sleepover was in there. Including a can of shaving cream for Mr. Moneybags, he thought gleefully to himself, just in case he actually did show up.

Tristan and Yugi also made their hellos, finally, as they filed in after Joey. They, too, were burdened with presents and backpacks as well as suspicious minds. The three of them had talked it over on the phone yesterday and all of them agreed that there was something fishy going on between Téa and Kaiba. Joey had a new idea. If Kaiba wasn't harassing her, he figured that Kaiba was trying to get close to her then, pretending to want to be friends and all, so he could get a read on Yugi's cards before he challenged him to another duel. A duel that Kaiba would lose, of course. Yugi was, after all, the King of Games. Yugi thought back to the night they'd spent decorating the house and his questions about the pendant that still hung around her neck. That was the key. Would Kaiba do something so low as to 'pretend' friendship with Téa, who was kind, open and caring to everyone, just so that he could get the inside scoop for a strategy to beat him? Could Kaiba stoop so low? Yugi didn't think that it was possible but Joey and Tristan had loudly, and quite vehemently, stated it for absolute truth during that phone call. Yugi still wasn't so sure that Kaiba could be that dishonest. Cold, cruel and arrogant, definite yes but he couldn't picture Kaiba as the kind who could 'pretend' anything well.

At least their plan was in place and ready to go. Operation Keep Away. Joey's **brilliant** suggestion.

Téa finally closed the door behind them before she followed Yugi and Tristan into the living room so they could drop their armloads of presents off under the tree.

"So, how are you Téa? I didn't hear much from you yesterday. Just your quick message to remind me to bring pennies over," Yugi said, putting aside all of his suspicions. This was **Téa**, his best friend since kindergarten.

"Great, couldn't be better," she replied happily. She'd seen a shadow cloud his eyes for an instant before it had vanished, his bright violet eyes shining through once more. She knew, then and there, that he knew something was up. Joey and Tristan had applied themselves to arranging the presents nicely under the tree and they were doing a pretty decent job, for a change. They were talking to each other but she couldn't hear a word they were saying. Probably about food or girls.

"You know, I look forward to this sleepover every year," Yugi mused, slinging his backpack off his shoulders. Kneeling beside it, the clasp came undone easily and he rooted through it, obviously looking for something. Téa leaned forward a bit and glimpsed his pyjamas before she smiled. Blue flannel with stars and moons on them. The same ones he'd worn at the last sleepover they'd managed to have before the world went crazy.

"So do I, Yugi. It makes me feel like a kid again." Her smile grew brighter and Yugi flushed, remembering the first time they'd ever had a Christmas sleepover.

Yami took a peek at that first memory and chuckled knowingly. His aibou had already been smitten with her back then. Who wouldn't have been, Yami thought, when she'd shown up on his doorstep in a pink and white-trimmed winter jacket and long brown pigtails tied in bright green ribbons, a cherubic smile on her lips.

_'You liked her even then, Yugi,' Yami commented. 'Your memory of her is covered in shimmering stars.'_

_'Yeah, I did,' Yugi answered, his mind voice sounding wistfully sad. 'And I'll never be able to tell her how I… how WE feel about her. I'm too scared of the consequences.'_

_Yami lowered his head, his brilliant amethyst eyes closed and a bittersweet sigh passed his lips before he whispered, 'I know. Even after 5000 years, nothing has changed when it comes to love and friendship.'_

_'What do you mean?' Yugi looked at the Spirit, waiting for an answer._

_'The line between the two is fragile. The risk in crossing it is great. What if you lose the one and never gain the other? Is it worth it? There is no return once that line is passed.'_

Yugi felt his heart beat strangely at the words of his darker half. Every one was true. He didn't want to face the possibility of losing his best friend. She'd been there for him too many times, cheering him on in the face of the greatest evils and the greatest odds, to even wish their bond to be broken like that. Having her as a friend would be enough. Would **have to** **be** enough.

Yami nodded at the decision.

They both suspected that she didn't feel the same way. Had suspected it since the night of the last party on Saturday. The pendant that glittered around her neck, fire engulfing ice, and the glow that surrounded her told them as much. Maybe Kaiba wasn't pretending friendship with her. Maybe there was something more going on there that she wasn't telling them about. Mental sigh. As long as she was happy, he'd be happy for her too. If it were true, then it was one battle that Kaiba would never know he'd won.

Yugi shook his head, clearing the thoughts from his mind and concentrating once more on the here and now. He wasn't going to let these thoughts bring him down. It was CHRISTMAS, a time of joy and happiness. A time to be spent with friends and laughter. And he was surrounded by that already, judging by the look of Joey and Tristan under the tree. No doubt, they were planning something for Kaiba.

"Yugi?" Téa asked a second later, seeing the faraway look in his eyes. Waving a hand in front of his face, she said, a little more loudly this time, "Earth to Yugi!"

"Sorry, Téa. Just thinking about our first Christmas sleepover," Yugi replied, getting back to the task of rooting through his pack once more. Two large plastic bowls appeared a moment later. "Macaroni and potato salad. And I made them myself. Grandpa didn't help this time. Especially after that last incident with the rice dish he tried to make."

She shuddered involuntarily. That had been one nasty meal. And they'd all pretended that they loved it just so they wouldn't hurt Grandpa's feelings. "Great. Now, let's go see what Joey and Tristan brought for dinner," she said, taking the bowls from Yugi's hands so he could re-zip his pack.

"Don't bother, Téa. They ordered the usual," Yugi replied, his bag zipped once more and over his shoulder. Hearing her groan, he smiled widely. "You know those two. They can't boil water without burning it."

"I know, I know but something other than meat-loaded, no veggies in sight, greasy, delicious, sloppy pizza wasn't what I had in mind when I said tonight's dinner was potluck," Téa responded dryly. Those two and their boundless fascination with pizza. It was going to be the death of them one of these days. Shaking her head, she headed for the kitchen to start getting everything ready. Yugi, with nothing else to do, followed her, knowing she was going to need some help. As long as he didn't have to get anything from the higher shelves, he'd be fine.

**DING DONG DING DONG**

**DING DONG DING DONG**

"And dat should be de pizza guy. Tristan, get out yer wallet. It's your turn t' pay." Joey rubbed his hands together gleefully.

"What? No way, dude. I paid at the arcade yesterday, remember? It's **your** turn." Tristan stood up and dusted his knees off, more out of habit than from actually thinking they were dirty. Téa was… passionate… about keeping the house clean. The earful she'd given Joey Monday at the mall about his 'inattentiveness' in cleaning up the veggie mess from Saturday sprang to mind.

Joey's face fell. He'd forgotten about his gluttonous feast the night before. "Oh, right."

**DING DONG DING DONG**

**DING DONG DING DONG**

"I don't care whose turn it is to pay. Could one of you PLEASE get the door?" Téa exclaimed from the kitchen, just before a small crash resounded throughout the living room. A muttered curse came from the vicinity of the kitchen and Joey chuckled to himself as he headed for the front door. Time to pay the piper, or in this case, the pizza guy.

Pushing the latch down with one hand, he reached into his back pocket with the other. Consequently, he didn't really pay attention to who was on the other side as the door opened before him. It was Wednesday. So it was probably Les from the pizza place. Will worked on Tuesdays and Thursdays. "So uh, how much do I owe ya?" Joey asked, well-worn wallet finally in hand, as he started to look up. His eyes focussed on the belt buckle before him, the colour changing with the twinkling of the Christmas lights that were lit up outside. A Blue Eyes White Dragon belt buckle to be exact. He frowned. Since when did the pizza guy start wearing one of those?

"You don't have nearly enough in there to pay me to be around you for the night," a cold, arrogant voice replied. Joey's eyes travelled upward slowly, taking in the flare of a white trench coat, black jeans and a red sweater. Ice blue eyes glared at him as he finally saw, really saw, who was standing before him. It wasn't Les, or even Will.

Shit.

"Kaiba? You actually showed up?" Joey couldn't keep the incredulity out of his voice.

"I was **invited** to this little get together," Seto smirked, his arms folded over his chest. Mokuba peaked out from behind Seto's waist and smiled at Joey.

"Hey Joey, we're here for the sleepover, too. Téa invited us when we came over Saturday for the decorating party."

No sugar rush tonight. Seto had watched him like a hawk all day. Corn flakes with no sugar on top. A ham, lettuce and cheese sandwich with soup. All healthy food, his big brother said. They'd even brought over a huge chef's salad, which Seto had made with his own two hands, even the dressing, for the potluck dinner. How boring! He prayed that Téa had something sweet for dessert.

Mokuba also carried a huge bag of pennies as per her instructions yesterday, just before Seto had driven her home. That's why he was walking a little lopsided. The pennies were in his coat pocket.

Yesterday, Mokuba thought and flushed red.

Now he really knew better than to burst into his brother's office unannounced. What he remembered seeing made him shiver a little. The wind might have had something to do with that as well.

"C'mon Joey, let us in. It's cold out here," Mokuba pleaded, "And this thing is heavy."

"What? Oh yeah," Joey replied and moved aside to let the Kaiba brothers enter.

Seto swept inside, ignoring the look Wheeler gave him, and let his eyes roam around the living room. The retriever sat on the couch, looking dumbfounded as usual. His eyes narrowed and his brows furrowed. Where were Téa and the shrimp?

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Téa heard Joey's exclamation and Seto's subsequent remark even in the kitchen amidst the clean up of the mug she'd dropped. That was the crash heard round the living room a minute before. Dinner on Saturday hadn't really mellowed him out at all, it seemed. Well, everyone was going to have to learn to get along sooner or later. Sooner preferably.

Yugi looked across the kitchen at Téa as she dumped the remains of the mug in the garbage and saw that glow he'd seen earlier around her intensify drastically at the commotion that was happening in the living room.

Ninety-nine percent confirmation of their suspicions. His heart finished breaking in silence as he turned his violet gaze downto the green-edged plates he was holding. A single, unshed tear glittered in the corner of his eye as he mourned the loss of what would never be.

Hearing Téa move towards the living room, he composed himself quickly and followed her.

Wiping her hands on a dishtowel she'd grabbed from the counter, she walked into the front room, wondering exactly what she was going to see. It had gone awfully silent in there since Kaiba had shown up.

Coming around the archway, she stared in surprise. No one was in a chokehold yet. There were no swords or fists waving maniacally. Nothing but silence. Tristan had moved from the couch to stand behind Joey and glare daggers at the elder Kaiba. Joey stood to the side of the front door, watching as Seto smoothly closed the door behind Mokuba before removing his familiar coat. Mokuba stood quietly beside his brother, holding a huge silver bowl covered in plastic wrap. Looking at Mokuba, she couldn't help the immediate crimson tint that appeared on her cheeks. Was she ever going to be able to look at him without feeling that she'd traumatized the younger Kaiba for life?

_Flashback – yesterday, Seto's home office, 3:21 p.m._

_"Remember, you asked for it," came her silken reply. Her hands grasped the edges of his now-unbuttoned shirt and pulled them aside, his golden-pale skin bared for her viewing. Perfectly, absolutely, amazingly beautiful. He shivered slightly as the cool air of his office caressed his skin. The shirt she held, however, didn't stop at his shoulders as he'd expected. Exerting a little more effort, Téa pulled it over his shoulders and down his upper arms to his elbows, effectively trapping them against his sides. _

_Seto's eyebrows rose in surprise when he found himself unable to do anything except waggle his hands uselessly. "You conniving little…" he laughed as she smirked at him. What a turn on this was, too. About as good as the 'binding legal agreement' they'd concluded on her couch a few nights before. _

_"You look absolutely…delicious," she commented, letting her fingers trail lightly over his collarbone. "I wonder if you taste as good as you look?" she murmured softly, a finger gliding up his neck and back down again. That fascinated look in her eyes had him gulping for air. What was she planning now that he was her 'prisoner'?_

_Neither of them heard the office door creak open or see the black-haired, younger Kaiba come stalking into the room._

_Mokuba's slippers made not a whisper of sound as he tread stealthily across the beige carpet towards his brother's desk. The chair he always sat in was facing the window. Must be trying to work out some design problem or other. He always did that when he needed to think. _

_Creeping around the corner of the huge mahogany desk, Mokuba thought he heard some sighs and groans. Big brother must be really stuck with the problem. His tie was even on the desk, well half on and half off the desk, as if it had been carelessly thrown there. Seto never took off his tie unless he was really frustrated. Hopefully he wouldn't get too mad at Mokuba for surprising him like this. He was home almost an hour early from the birthday party. He would have stayed longer but Jonas, the birthday boy, had gotten sick all over the living room carpet after eating six slices of birthday cake and four huge scoops of ice cream. Jonas must have thought he could outdo Mokuba for sugar intake. _

_Well, he'd been proved wrong, Mokuba thought smugly to himself._

_Crouching down low behind the black leather chair, he took a deep breath, still hearing weird noises. Shrugging his shoulders, he grinned. This was going to be good. He hadn't surprised his brother like this in a long time._

_"**SETO!!!!!! I'M HOME!!!!!**" Mokuba hollered at the top of his young lungs as he sprang out from behind the chair. The sight that greeted his eyes made him blanche to a shade beyond white. Téa, the girl he looked up to as a big sister, the girl who had saved his butt countless times, was half-naked on top of his brother Seto, who was also half-naked. It didn't bother him to see his brother in a state of undress. They were, after all, brothers and had taken baths together when they were little. But Téa? Okay well, she wasn't completely naked but that shirt she was wearing didn't leave much to the imagination. AHH TMI! Too much information, especially for his young, although not completely innocent, mind. He screwed his eyes shut. That was disgusting! Seto was kissing a GIRL! It didn't matter that it was Téa – she was still a girl! He didn't know what to do. Should he leave? Should he stay? Should he try to get the two of them apart? Eww, yuck, gross, disgusting!_

_"MOKUBA!!" Seto yelled, not quite as loudly as his younger brother did. Somehow, Seto managed to shrug his shirt back on, not bothering with the buttons, as Téa jumped off his lap into a heap on the floor. Mokuba had scared the hell out of her and she had reflexively reacted. Not that she'd intended to land in a mess on the floor. That had just happened. She never was very graceful when someone came in screaming and yelling at the top of their lungs that they were home. Note the slightly sarcastic tone._

_"**AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**" With that final scream, Mokuba turned around as fast as he possibly could and made a beeline for the office door. His scream still echoed down the hall._

_And to think, all of this had happened in less than five seconds._

_Téa picked herself up off the floor quite gingerly. She had seriously bruised her pride. Sigh. Nothing was ever easy. Looking over at Seto, she saw that she wasn't the only one blushing a plum red. _

_End flashback…_

"Kaiba, Mokuba. Glad you could make it but I thought you'd said 6:30…" Téa left the statement hanging as Seto's icy gaze settled on her. The steely glint in his eyes warned her that he wasn't happy. Not happy at all. Something must have happened at work.

What was she blushing about, Seto asked himself. Was something going on that he didn't know about? And why was that little Yugi flushed too? Jealousy reared its head and his blood flowed hotly through his veins. What the hell was going on here?

"I finished work a little early. Are we interrupting something important?" was the curt, clipped reply.

What was with that tone of voice? He hadn't spoken to her like that since her visit to his office. Furious red once more. Her **first** visit to his office, she mentally amended, a week ago yesterday.

Yugi watched the whole exchange and his thoughts were a little scrambled. If what he thought was true was really true, then why was Kaiba behaving like this? He'd been so… so… nice to Téa, heck all of them, Saturday night but now the 'old' Kaiba was back.

"No, not at all. I'm happy to see you here a little earlier than planned. All work and no play makes Kaiba a dull boy," she replied brightly, flashing him a big, innocently friendly smile. And a wink that no one else saw.

Seto gave himself a mental shake. This was **Téa**. She would never do anything to betray him. Why was he getting all jealous of Yugi? The two hadbeen friends forever. It was only natural for the two of them to spend time together. A deep breath calmed the fire racing through his body and the suspicions were forced down with only a little effort.

A glance down at his younger brother finally clued him in. The red both Téa and he sported was identical. But while she just looked embarrassed, he was grinning fit to kill and the way he was bobbing his head back and forth reminded him of yesterday's events.

And Mokuba's parting taunt as they headed towards the garage so he could drop her off at home.

_Flashback – yesterday, Seto's kitchen, 3:48 p.m._

"_Now, don't forget the pennies. They'll be very important for tomorrow night. A couple hundred each should do." She smiled at him as she adjusted her jacket on her shoulders as he opened the door to the garage. _

"_No problem. I'll just raid Mokuba's piggy bank. He has a stash of them in there. I think he plans on bankrupting the world of pennies." They both chuckled at that. "Let's go. The sooner I get you home, the sooner I can get revenge on that little scamp."_

_Neither of them saw the 'little scamp' hiding out behind the island in the middle of the kitchen. Until, that is, they heard:_

"_Seto and Téa sitting in a tree…_

_K-I-S-S-I-N-G…_

_First comes LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE_

_Then comes marriage…"_

"_Mokuba…" Seto started, his voice deceptively calm and controlled. That tone of voice only meant one thing._

_Big trouble when his big brother came home._

_End flashback…_

Hence the reason for no cereal and a healthy lunch that day. Revenge isn't always sweet.

With that glance, everything became crystal then.

Calling himself 'idiot' in six languages, Seto turned to the younger Kaiba and took the bowl out of his hands, ostensibly to let him take off his coat. The ulterior motive was to get Téa into the kitchen and have a more private chat with her.

"Thanks, big brother." The huge winning smile Mokuba threw at him made Seto want to laugh on the spot. The mischief-maker knew exactly what had gone through Seto's mind. Mokuba could read him like a book.

"You're welcome, Mokuba."

Joey, meanwhile, looked quickly at both Kaiba and Téa. Judging by her freaked out expression, something wasn't quite right. What, he didn't have a clue but he had a really good guess.

Something to do with Kaiba. He wasn't being as nicey-nice as he'd been on Saturday. Maybe Téa hadn't yet told him what he wanted to know about Yugi's deck. Well, Operation Keep Away would keep it that way.

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Whew, finally done. This is, of course, just a set up for the rest of the chapters that are coming. The reason for the pennies will be explained next chapter. Hehehehe.

Feel free to leave a review and tell me how you liked, or hated, this chapter. The plot bunny went on vacation for a while and forgot to tell me when she'd be home. Hence, the reason for the long wait between updates.

Enjoy!

Aphrael21 ;)


	4. Games

**Chapter 4 – Games**

The next instalment in my little crazy tale is about, as the title states, dinnertime. At least the start of it. Let the chaos and calamity begin. Hope they realize what they're in for. Oh, and there is literally 10 seconds of fluff in this chapter. You'll see what I mean when you read it.

I love my plot bunny. She's so soft, warm, and fuzzy. I'm glad she came back from the Bahamas with a nice tan. I really missed her.

Disclaimer: My plot bunny came home with shot glasses and a bottle of to-kill-ya (tequila). She forgot to pick up the ownership of Yu-Gi-Oh on the way. Sigh. I'll have to stay a poor university student for a while yet. Oh and this disclaimer applies to chapter 3, too. Got so excited to post it that, after a couple shots of the lethal stuff, I forgot about the legal mumbo-jumbo.

On with the plot…

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Seto stared in disdain as Wheeler cut him off in mid-stride as he crossed the living room. His teeth clenched together and his fingers tightened around the silver bowl he was holding, wishing it were Wheeler's neck.

"And what do you want?" The ice in his voice should have stopped him in his tracks but no, the mutt kept coming at him. Shining brown eyes stared innocently into his and Seto could almost hear the gears grinding in protest in the blonde's brain. The mutt was up to something. He was actually trying to think. Impressive.

"Here, Kaiba, let me take dat fo' ya." Joey literally tore the bowl out of the CEO's hands and passed it off to Tristan without so much as a glance behind him, like a football player executing a pass according to a playbook, who passed Téa and Yugi on his way into the kitchen. The three of them had it all figured out.

If Kaiba was faking friendship, then the only way to keep Téa out of his evil clutches was to keep them as far apart as possible. At all times, one of them had to be near her. That way Kaiba wouldn't have a chance to talk to her alone. Then, she, in her sweet innocence, wouldn't be able to divulge any sort of information to that arrogant snake. The plan was simple and foolproof.

They, of course, hadn't written **Mokuba** into the equation when they'd formulated their plan on the phone yesterday.

He had his own plan. Even though he'd been sworn to secrecy, via the pinkie swear, to not breathe a word of the new relationship to anybody, Mokuba was determined to let the two of them have some "together-time" through the course of the evening. Not a lot, just a minute or two to exchange a private 'hello'. **He** may not like the idea of kissing girls, just the thought of it gave him a serious case of the heebie-jeebies, but it was totally obvious that Seto did. He'd do everything possible on the face of this earth to make his brother happy and if kissing was what did it, then so be it.

Poor Téa. She didn't even know she was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

**DING DONG DING DONG**

**DING DONG DING DONG**

"Pizza's here," Yugi stated a little timidly. The tension in the room was so thick, he almost doubted a chainsaw could cut through it. Yami wasn't helping matters any as he stared avidly through Yugi's eyes at the possible showdown between Joey and Kaiba.

"Let me guess. Wheeler's contribution to the potluck." It wasn't a question. Joey's smiling eyes turned into smouldering pools of lava and the hand not holding his wallet clenched into a fist.

"If it wasn't Christmas Eve, I'd…" Joey started to say. Kaiba's "Hmmph" stopped him mid-sentence.

"You'd what? Give me another mistletoe kiss, Wheeler? Haven't you learned by now that I don't kiss dogs?" The proverbial line was being drawn and Seto couldn't help but taunt Wheeler into crossing it. The glare he could feel Téa boring into him didn't really simmer him down too much.

"Why, I oughta…"

**DING DONG DING DONG**

**DING DONG DING DONG**

"Joey, just get the door." The exasperated sigh echoed around the living room. Those two were never going to get along, she thought. "And I'm warning the two of you. You'd better be on your best behaviour tonight or **else**." That ominous tone of voice made the tips of Seto's ears burn but the sneer never left his lips as Joey shuddered involuntarily. Seems that Joey had more reason to fear her than he did.

"Awright, already," Joey muttered. Turning his eyes to Kaiba once more, seeing the triumphant smirk in his eyes was too much to handle. All he wanted was one clear shot and Tristan holding the jerk's arms. Instead, he said, through gritted teeth, "Wouldja mind?"

Seto gracefully stepped aside, letting the mutt pass him in order to reach the door, and walked further into the living room, his eyebrow arched at Téa. A single look from her and he knew that she meant what she said about the 'or else'. Just because the two of them locked lips didn't mean he was going to get special treatment. Well, as long as the mutt stayed muzzled, he'd play nice tonight, too.

Mokuba cocked his ear behind him, hearing Joey close the front door and return towards the kitchen with his pizza. Now was the time to implement his little plan. Throwing Téa a million watt grin, he stopped and innocently dug his sock-covered toe into the carpet. "Seto?"

"What is it, Mokuba?" Seto's voice sounded interested. What was his brother planning now? Tristan popped his head out of the kitchen and all eyes in the room focussed on the youngest Kaiba. Joey stopped behind him, his arms holding six huge pizza boxes.

Mokuba played his trump card. "Um, I forgot the sleepover bags in the car. Can you and Téa help me get them? They're kinda heavy…" his voice trailed off and a sidelong glance at his older brother showed him a tight grin that was barely held in check. Leave it to Mokuba to come up with something like this. The kid was too smart for his own good. Thank God, he was on Seto's side.

Joey caught Tristan and Yugi's eyes and gave a slight imperceptible nod. Kaiba wouldn't dare try anything in front of his little brother, would he? Probably not. So if it were the three of them out there together getting the bags that would be all right. But just to be on the safe side…

"I'll help ya, Mokuba." Joey walked around and came to rest in front of the boy, pizza boxes still in hand. "Just wait while I …"

"It's okay, Joey. He asked me, so I'll go help. You, Tristan and Yugi get the table ready. You know the drill. Just like the last time, only we need six settings and probably two decks. They're in the drawer next to the silverware." Téa stepped forward and let her hand casually brush against Seto's arm as she placed it around Mokuba's shoulders. "C'mon kiddo, let's go get your stuff and let you get settled in. The boys can take care of the kitchen for a change."

With that said, Téa led Mokuba towards the front door, a grinning Seto only a step behind the two.

Yugi, Tristan and Joey just stared, mouths open as the other half of their party headed out the front door, closing it softly behind them as they exited the house.

Tristan and Joey exchanged a glance before Joey dumped the boxes in Yugi's waiting arms and they bolted for the living room window. Kaiba had undoubtedly parked on the driveway. They could watch everything from there, in case anything… untoward… happened to Téa while they were outside.

Yugi shook his head sadly, as the two jockeyed for a better position, and went to finish getting the kitchen ready. It would be useless to try to tell those two of his suspicions for what was really going on between the other two. That would complicate matters beyond belief, not that they would believe him anyways. They were so set on the idea of Kaiba 'harassing' Téa that they would never listen to reason. Walking into the kitchen, he regarded the pizza boxes he still held in his hands and grinned. Sometimes their skulls were as thick as pizza crust. The deep-dish kind.

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Téa shivered a little in the cold outside as she and Mokuba led the way to Seto's car. A silver BMW sat at the very end of the driveway, gleaming brightly in the light streaming from the single lamp set on the property.

A quick look back at the house showed two heads peering out at them from the living room. What was with those two? Ever since the trip to the mall, they'd been acting kind of weird. And they didn't trust Seto as far as they could throw him with one hand tied behind their backs. What the hell was going on? Joey had even played interceptor from the minute the Kaiba's had shown up on her doorstep. Now they were spying on her. Did they suspect something was up between the two of them or were they still on about the notion of him harassing her? She didn't know nor did she really care at this point – she just wanted the two of them to grow up.

And then there was Seto. Now was the best time to deal with that situation. The last thing she wanted was to embarrass him in front of Joey, Yugi and Tristan. That would just add fuel to the fire.

"Do you really feel the need to taunt him that much, Seto?" Téa asked. Mokuba snickered. They all knew exactly which 'him' she was referring to.

"He threatened me first. Am I not allowed to defend myself?" She'd surprised him again. No tirade. No tongue-lashing. Just that quiet, resigned tone of voice. A twinge of guilt twisted through him and the snow-covered concrete he was walking on suddenly became very interesting.

Mokuba stared up at Téa. He'd never seen someone put Seto on the defensive so easily. One comment from her and Seto was ready to cave. Amazing. His respect for her grew tenfold, even though she did like kissing.

"Alright. I'll give you that. But promise me you two will place nice for the rest of the night." Téa flipped her hair over her shoulder and saw the downcast face, hunched shoulders and hands in pockets. Slowing down, she let him catch up. With those two yahoos staring at them, she couldn't slip her arm through his, reassuring him that she wasn't angry. Instead, she had to settle for nudging him with an elbow til he looked over at her.

Two sets of blue eyes met and brightened while Mokuba just rolled his and silently gagged. Bleh, mushy stuff. Throwing Téa's arm off his shoulders, he raced ahead and waited for them by the car. He really didn't want to be near them when they were going all lovey-dovey. Disgusting.

"All right, I'll try my best but if he attacks me…"

"You have every right to defend yourself. Just no more outright provocation allowed."

"Deal." A quick, hidden handshake sealed it.

They'd reached the car by this time and Mokuba was patiently waiting for them, resting himself against the side of the vehicle, a revolted expression on his face as he rolled his eyes once more.

"Okay, you two, here's the plan," Mokuba started. The other two looked at him, both wearing identical questioning looks. "Since the bags are in the trunk and I know that Joey and Tristan are looking out the window, I'm going to slip to the front of the car on the other side and count down slowly from ten. Do whatever it is you want to do and when you hear me say zero, break it up. I don't want a repeat of yesterday."

"So, this was what you were planning before we even left the house, Mokuba?" Seto was impressed. Even he hadn't figured that Mokuba could be so deliberate when he was plotting.

"You got it, big brother," Mokuba smiled triumphantly. He hadn't surprised his brother like this since… since… the mistletoe incident a few days before.

"Your brother was right when he called you a mischievous little scamp," Téa said, her blue eyes laughing at the quick-wittedness of the younger Kaiba. "Thanks."

Mokuba had the decency to blush before he opened the trunk with Seto's keys and scampered away to the front of the car, making sure to keep himself down low so those two in the window wouldn't see him.

"And why, pray tell, are Joey and Tristan watching us?" Seto asked as the two of them moved behind the opened trunk of the car and he slipped his hands around her waist. They were cold, she thought, and shivered against him.

"They think you're harassing me," she replied with a smile, slipping her own arms around his waist and letting him feel how cold her hands were. They should have worn coats outside. Oh well, they had other things to think about right now.

A soft laugh met her ears and his smile made her stomach do flip-flops. A muffled whisper of "Ten" could be heard from the front of the car.

"Am I?" he asked her, his mouth slowly lowering towards hers.

"Nine."

"No way," and their lips met in a welcoming kiss. Heaven stood still and the stars shone brightly down on the two of them. Forever still wouldn't be long enough to enjoy this.

"Eight."

Her hands traced lines up and down his back as the kiss deepened before they parted for a breath of air.

"Seven."

He pulled her closer, his hands mimicking her movements.

"Six."

Tongues met and playfully battled for dominance.

"Five."

The battle drew to a stalemate and soft sighs echoed through the still night air.

"Four."

Whispered nothings encouraged him to kiss her lower and she stood on tiptoe so he could.

"Three."

The corner of her mouth was his next target. Then her cheek.

"Two."

His hands left her waist and plunged into her long, silky hair. The scent of lemons surrounded him. Damn, another company.

"One."

Her hands reached up and mussed his hair. She would never get tired of seeing him look dishevelled.

"Zero."

Seto and Téa broke apart smiling just as Mokuba rejoined them from his perch at the front of the luxurious vehicle.

"All right, can we get the bags inside now? I'm cold," Mokuba asked. Seto reached down and ruffled the kid's hair before grabbing the strap of his pack in the trunk and slinging it over his shoulder.

"Of course," Seto replied as he reached for the strap to Mokuba's pack. Téa was quicker and she gently slapped his hand away.

"I got it," he stated. Mokuba's pack was the heavier of the two of them since he'd insisted on bringing along some toys to play with, which included his Gameboy SP and likely thirty or so games. Including the one Seto had bought for him at the mall the other day.

"No, you don't. If I have nothing in my hands, they're going to get suspicious and think something's up. Do you really want that tonight?" Téa slung Mokuba's pack over her shoulder and looked at Seto. He seemed to be weighing what she'd said.

"Yeah, Seto. If you carry them both, you'll ruin the whole thing!" Mokuba whined as he jumped up to reach the end of the trunk in order to shut it.

"I guess you're both right. I'm outnumbered two to one," he finally replied, his hands trying to straighten the mess Téa had made of his hair. HER hair looked perfect, as usual. Not a strand out of place. No matter what he did, he just couldn't muss it up as easily as she mussed his. He was going to have to find a way to change that.

Hefting his pack higher, he started towards the door and missed the shared look between his girlfriend and his little brother. If the two of them ever planned something together, he would be in big trouble. Téa once more placed her arm around Mokuba's shoulders and gave a gentle squeeze. The questioning look made her smile.

"Thanks again." Sincerity shone through and Mokuba found that he was inexplicably pleased to have helped them have some 'together time'. Would he be able to plan another one for them through the night? He thought about it hard and decided it couldn't be **that** hard to outwit Joey and Tristan.

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"They're comin'!" Tristan exclaimed, grabbing Joey's arm and pulling him away from the window. "We gotta make ourselves scarce."

The two 'yahoos' made a beeline for the kitchen. A startled Yugi looked up from his task of transferring his macaroni salad to a nice, glass bowl instead of the plastic Tupperware he'd brought it in.

"Did the spying prove worthwhile?" Yugi asked, trying his hardest to ignore the Pharaoh's pleas to 'retrieve an effervescent beverage from the fridgerator'. He still couldn't call it 'pop' and his handle on slang was none too keen either. Neither was his ability to use appliances the way they were meant to be used.

"Nah, de bags were in de trunk so we couldn't see much," Joey replied, pushing his mop of hair away from his face in frustration. "Téa and Mokuba walked ahead of Kaiba until dey slowed down near the car to let him catch up. Den Mokuba ran ahead. And I don't tink dat Kaiba would pressure Téa for information in front of his little brother. He knows how Mokuba feels about her."

"Have you ever thought that maybe, just maybe, Kaiba isn't really… bugging her?" Yugi put this out tentatively, wondering at the reaction he was about to get. Joey and Tristan stared at him as if he'd lost all of his marbles. Why couldn't he have just kept his mouth shut? Sometimes he spoke before he thought. Yami decided this would be a good time to stop asking about a beverage and just listen to see what those two said.

Joey went to a drawer beside the stove and pulled one open. Stubs of pencils, books of matches, elastics, screws, nails, a half-eaten box of Golden Buds, a writing pad or three and six decks of cards littered the inside of the junk drawer. Pulling out two of the decks, Joey thought hard about what Yugi said.

Pulling open the fridge door, Tristan peered inside for a second before grasping the handle on the jug of fruit punch. Homemade fruit punch, judging by the pulp floating on the top. Leave it to Téa to make something healthy like that, he thought. Closing the door slowly and turning around, Tristan thought hard about what Yugi said.

"No way," both of them replied simultaneously. Just then, the front door opened and excited chatter filtered in over the noise of backpacks being unslung.

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"Well, since you guys are all going to be sleeping in the basement, why don't we just move them down there right now. You can spread out your sleeping bags by the fireplace," Téa was saying as the three boys came out from the kitchen.

Oh, no. She wasn't going to spend another minute near that Kaiba, Joey thought as he made a move across the living room. She was way too close to him. Heck, their shoulders were almost touching. Grabbing his own pack from beside the couch, he stopped next to Téa and neatly got between her and Kaiba. The older one.

Glaring daggers, Joey took a hold of the pack Téa had been carrying and 'accidentally' bumped into Kaiba, pushing him further away from Téa in the process. Let's see how he handles this, Joey thought gleefully. "Let's get dem downstairs den. C'mon, Tris, grab yours and Yugi's. I'm starving."

Seto's mouth tightened to a thin line and he was just about to say something when he caught Téa's eye. The look warned him again to play nice. "Let's go. The sooner we get this done, the sooner you can have some dinner, Mokuba. I know you're hungry, too."

A pin was heard dropping three blocks away. Kaiba hadn't insulted Joey for the first time in… in… years. Shock pervaded the entire room before Téa finally broke the silence. "Is the kitchen all set up, Yugi?"

Gulping once, Yugi looked at his best friend and replied, "Yup. Everything's ready. The cards just need to be shuffled."

"We're playing cards while we eat? Cool! What are we playing?" Mokuba asked. This was something new to him; he'd never been allowed to play games while eating dinner.

Téa flushed. She'd forgotten how young Mokuba was. Would Seto mind the name of the game? Turned out it was a problem she didn't have to worry about as Tristan blurted the answer.

"A game called 'Asshole'," he replied.

"Yeah, that's a game you should be good at, Kaiba," Joey said, snickering at his own quick-wittedness.

Kaiba looked ready to kill him, judging by the fire that flared in his eyes.

Great, World War 3 was about to erupt in the middle of her entranceway.

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Hope you enjoyed my fourth chapter. Geez, Joey and his mouth. Can't wait to til the next chapter when they start playing the game. Oh and if you don't know how to play it, it will all be explained next chapter. There is a reason they need pennies…

Best wishes to all,

Aphrael21 ;)


	5. Apologies and More Games

**Chapter 5 – Apologies and More Games**

Well, well, well, we've gotten ourselves into a fine mess now, haven't we? Joey has picked on Kaiba for the last time, judging by the glare in his eyes. What's going to happen next? Well, read on and find out. And take cover. World War 3 might yet happen in the middle of an entranceway…

Disclaimer: Just own the bottle of to-kill-ya that has helped me write the last two chapters. Yu-Gi-Oh is still someone else's property. I just let them have fun occasionally.

Sorry for the long wait for the update. I've been feeling somewhat down. This is close to the end of my story and it makes me sad to see it go. I've had a lot of fun writing it and reading the reviews that everyone has been kind enough to give it. Can't wait to see how the last two chapters and the 'discovery' turn out.

And I apologize for the length of this chapter. Just wanted everyone to see that Yami isn't the only good card game player around… Should also mention that I have played this exact game before with friends of mine, except the pennies were shots of Korean liquor called soju. Yeah, brutal.

* * *

_Téa flushed. She'd forgotten how young Mokuba was. Would Seto mind the name of the game? Turned out it was a problem she didn't have to worry about as Tristan blurted the answer._

"_A game called 'Asshole'," he replied._

"_Yeah, that's a game you should be good at, Kaiba," Joey said, snickering at his own quick-wittedness. _

_Kaiba looked ready to kill him, judging by the fire that flared in his eyes._

_Great, World War 3 was about to erupt in the middle of her entranceway._

**Something** was about to hit the fan.

"**Joey**!" Téa shouted, her face showing only half the rage that was furiously boiling through her system. "That was completely uncalled for! I can't believe you just said that. Apologize this **instant**."

Mokuba stared, wide-eyed and open-mouthed as a goldfish, at Joey Wheeler. Impressive. That was his best shot at Seto ever. Swinging his gaze to said older brother, Mokuba could have sworn he saw steam escaping from his ears. Except for the eyes, his face remained an emotionless mask but Mokuba could read the twitch of an eyebrow and the slight flare of a nostril. His brother was pissed.

The group looked askance at Joey. Well, everyone except Seto, that is. If only murder weren't illegal, he thought, his hands clenched together hard enough for his fingernails to draw blood. That had been a good one though and he had to give him credit for having the nerve to say it to his face. The gears he'd heard grinding earlier hadn't rusted in place yet.

Bright red with embarrassment, Joey suddenly became very acutely aware of every, single eye in the room focussed on him and him alone. Even the Pharaoh's jewelled gaze drilled into him as the Spirit hovered near Yugi. Joey hadn't really meant to say that aloud. Not at all. Well, Joey was being Joey.

And look where he was.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

"Wheeler…" Kaiba's threatening growl was barely above a whisper and it raised the hackles on the back of Joey's neck to hear the suppressed rage in that single word. Joey had dared to really insult Kaiba right in front of his little brother. He was going to have to pay for that one. Unless…

"Well, he keeps callin' me a dog 'n' he hasn't apologized t' me once for dat yet," Joey stated, crossing his arms over his green, sweater covered chest and turning away from the prying eyes. "If I have to apologize, so… does… he."

Realization struck her with the force of a lightning bolt. It was true. She'd never really called Seto on it, except in private. Every eye was now resting on her, waiting for her to decide what was going to happen next. Maybe this would be a good time for the two of them to make up. Then again, judging by the maelstrom of fury she saw in Seto's eyes, maybe not. Sigh. Nothing was ever easy.

But a decision had to be made. And was.

With her eyes pleading forgiveness and understanding, she turned to Seto and opened her mouth to speak.

She never got a chance to say a word.

This was going to be painful. Very painful. His rage in the face of her agony. Every word Wheeler said rang with the clarity of truth, even the ones he hadn't meant to say. Now Téa was forced to be the decision maker, a job he was positive she didn't relish. How does one choose between a best friend and a boyfriend? He knew the answer from the anguish in her eyes. She didn't want to do this.

He wasn't going to make her do it, either.

With that thought, the anger whooshed out in a sudden wave. Swallowing his pride and his ego, he cleared his throat once. The noise echoed around the room and every eye swung to him, much like a tennis match. The ball was in his court now. A deep breath in. Hold. Exhale. The first two words out of his mouth were the most unexpected ones he had ever figured he'd have to say to Wheeler. Unless he counted the first time he'd said them to Téa, who'd still been Gardner to him at the time.

"I apologize, Wheeler, for calling you a dog." There. He'd done it. He hadn't burst into flames, the world hadn't ended and murder was still illegal. Though hell had probably frozen over.

Tears brimmed in Téa's blue eyes. That was the most selfless gesture she'd ever had the pleasure of witnessing. **He** hadn't made her choose between anyone – he'd made up his own mind. Maybe there was hope for him and Joey after all. She tipped him a quick smile before lowering her head and sniffling a bit. Thank God he hadn't made her choose.

A second pin was dropped three blocks away. The whole living room plunged into complete and utter silence as Joey turned to face his tormentor, his jaw hitting the floor.

Had he heard correctly? Had Kaiba really apologized to him? Was it just his imagination or was Seto Kaiba, arrogant snake, actually being honest? Wow, never in a million years would he have expected this. Next thing he knew, Bakura, the **evil** Spirit of the Millennium Ring, was going to start a Pharaoh fan club complete with membership cards, fan fiction and a website.

"WH… what did ya jus' say?" Joey needed to hear him confirm what he'd heard. Maybe he was having some hearing problems or a hallucination brought on by lack of food in the last twenty minutes. Or had he somehow slipped into an alternate reality where Kaiba was a nice guy…

"You heard me," was the growled response. Ah, the Kaiba he was used to was back. Blue eyes locked on brown and Joey was stunned to see that Kaiba had actually meant his apology, that he wasn't just mouthing the words for the sake of peace in Téa's house.

"_Amazing." Yami gave a low whistle and Yugi looked at him questioningly. The Spirit went on to explain. "**Kaiba has changed**. In one of my few memories of him as High Priest, I remember that he had someone tortured and executed for the simple mistake of mispronouncing his name, out of nervousness. To hear him speak an apology to one **he** regards as lowly as Joey proves that his heart is not so filled with hatred anymore."_

"_You're right," Yugi replied mentally, looking up into those amethyst eyes that mirrored his own. "Kaiba would never, ever do something like that, even if what Joey said was true, unless he really meant it."_

Mokuba glanced up at his older brother, pride shining in his eyes. He'd heard other people call Seto the A-word before, usually under their breath, and always wondered how he'd react if it was said to his face. Now, he knew. If it had been anyone other than one of Téa's friends, they would've been torn limb from limb and put through the paper shredder for good measure. Seto really did like Téa if he was willing to let that go, with an apology on top of it.

"Joey." Tristan prompted. The mood would be spoiled, and the pizza would get colder, if Joey forgot his end of the deal.

"What?" One look at Tristan and he knew what he had to do. Besides, his stomach was rumbling and he could smell the double pepperoni, extra sausage and hot peppers pizza from here. "Oh, right." Deep breath. "I'm sorry, Kaiba, for callin' ya… dat."

"Well, now that that's over with, how about we go eat? I am **starving**," Mokuba piped up. Leave it to the youngest member of the group to remind them of food.

* * *

Yugi idly shuffled the cards that lay near his hands as he waited for everyone else to get their plates full of food. They'd all come up from the basement a few minutes ago after putting all of the sleeping bags and backpacks down there, still arguing over the name for the game. The original name wouldn't be suitable now that a fragile peace had settled over the group at Joey and Kaiba's apologies to each other. Not that that had stopped Joey from seating himself on Téa's left, opposite Yugi and between her and Kaiba. The air of hostility had now lessened to a more bearable degree over the slices of pizza and plates of salads that rested on the table. And the arguing was about to come to a finish as Téa clinked her fork against the rim of her juice-filled glass to get everyone's attention. 

"All right, so have we come to a unanimous decision for the name? We're down to two as I recall. Donkey or Idiot…" she said, looking at everyone as they finished fidgeting with their plates and settled down. Mokuba's eyes told her which word he favoured. 'Idiot' wasn't a word he got to use often and 'Donkey' was just plain boring. "So who votes for 'Idiot'?"

Every hand at the table shot into the air, including Seto's, although his was a little less enthusiastic, and much slower, than his younger brother's was. Too bad that he was on 'good' terms with Wheeler now. Oh, the fun he could have had with the name of the game. And considering how bad a duelist Wheeler was, he probably wouldn't be much better at this game.

'_Yugi, why would 'Donkey' be chosen as a possible name for this game? They are honourable creatures. Many of them were used during the building of the temples and pyramids. They could drag loads that would take three men many hours of labour to bring the same distance in a much shorter time. I don't understand this strange idea.' Yami looked to his Light for an explanation. Yugi sighed once, softly, and rubbed the bridge of his nose before eyeing the Spirit. He needed time to collect his thoughts before he answered this one. Yami had a habit of choosing the most inopportune moments to begin discussions like this. The whole 'fascination with snow' incident popped to mind._

'_Well, Pharaoh, in this day and age, people don't really use donkeys anymore. They are rude, stubborn and thickheaded. People equate that idea with being an idiot or a jerk. 'Donkey' is also a much politer form for saying 'ass' or 'jack ass'. Again, the same meanings are implied.' Yugi hoped the definition was enough. Yami could sometimes go on for hours about the differences between modern and ancient times. He really hoped this wasn't one of them._

'_But they are hard-working, industrious, intelligent animals. Why would people demean them in this modern age?' Yami looked genuinely puzzled. It was obvious he had never had to deal with a donkey. Yugi sighed again and silently asked the Spirit to ponder over it quietly so that Yugi could concentrate on the card game that would begin shortly._

Yugi hadn't noticed that all of the mumbling and whispering had stopped as he shuffled the cards. Even Seto was impressed with the skill and dexterity with which Yugi handled the cards. At times, they floated through his hands like smoke over water. A moment later, they were flying from hand to hand in patterns too quick and intricate for the eye to follow. The cards settled gently into his hand once more and he placed them in front of Téa with a quiet 'thwack'.

"Wow, Yugi, that was awesome," Mokuba exclaimed, his eyes saucer wide.

"If ya tink dat's good, you should see him when he's **really** tryin'," Joey commented as Téa picked up the cards and started to deal them out to everyone. The numbers worked out perfectly. Eighteen cards for everyone.

"So, how do we play this 'Idiot' game?" Seto asked, directing his question at Téa. That gave him an excuse to let his eyes focus on her. Even though it was just a scrawny Wheeler between them, the gulf felt like it was miles wide. That kiss by the car hadn't been enough, not by a long shot. He wanted to wrap his arms around her shoulders and hold her close, revelling in the scent of her hair, wanted to feel that electric tingle across his skin that only she could cause. The separation was making him itch. And bedtime was a long way away, he thought as he looked at his watch. Quarter to seven. At least another 3 hours until bed. Groan.

"The rules are simple. Jokers beat **everything**. One Joker can beat any hand, no matter how many cards are in it. Twos are the next highest. One two will beat a single or a pair of cards, two twos will beat 3 and 4 of a kind, three twos will beat 5 and 6 of a kind and so on. After that, it's all regular order, aces down to threes. The president starts the round by laying down any card, or cards, he or she sees fit. Have you got that so far?" His eyes were so blue that she just wanted to forget everything else and lose herself in them for the next hour or so. A small cough from Tristan brought her back to reality. Soon enough, they'd know what was going on and they wouldn't be able to stop her from doing just that. But until then…

Heads nodded around the table and she continued her explanation. "For example, S…Kaiba, if you were president and laid down three threes, Tristan would have to put down three of a kind higher than threes, like fours or even Kings." Mokuba still looked a little confused as she swung her gaze his way. "We'll play the first hand slowly so that you can get the hang of it." No one noticed her almost slip of the tongue. She was really going to have to watch what she said in regards to his name. But 'Seto' was becoming so natural to her…

The next few minutes were spent arranging the cards into a semblance of order. Téa hid her smile behind her poker face as her eyes looked over at her friends. Talking and joking continued on, Seto being the only silent one at the table. They were in trouble already and they didn't even know it yet. This was the best hand she'd ever been dealt. She'd be out in five hands or less. Her position as President was 99 guaranteed.

'_Would you like me to play for you, aibou? I have never tried this game before and it intrigues me,' Yami said, his cross-legged form floating just beside Yugi._

'_Are you sure, Pharaoh? Téa is **really **good at it. I wouldn't want you to lose face in front of her. You may have to talk to her too, you know. And we both know how well you do at that.' Yugi was sincere in his attempt to dissuade the Spirit from joining the game. He didn't understand just how well Téa played this game. Her poker face was inscrutable. 'How about I play the first game so you can see how it's done. If you still want to after the first game, then that's fine with me. And no cheating by floating around and looking at everyone's cards.'_

_Yami smiled at the gentle humour in Yugi's mind voice. This was a side of him the Spirit wasn't used to seeing. The last three years had been full of plots to take over or destroy the world, which hadn't been conducive for a "fun" atmosphere. To see his Light enjoying himself, in spite of heartbreak, brought a quiet joy to his own heart. 'Very well, aibou. I shall only observe this game. And I thank you for your concern.'_

_Yugi blushed slightly as Yami settled down and watched through Yugi's eyes as the game began._

"Since there is no 'Idiot' yet and I dealt the cards, I'll start the hand and rake the cards in when the round is done. There are a few more rules to remember, but they won't be necessary to know until the places have all been filled. When the first game is over, I'll explain those too. Oh, and one more thing. If you can't play a card, you have to put the same number of pennies as cards into the bowl. Winner claims **all**." Téa fingered her cards and sent Seto a heated glance. He was so in trouble. He'd soon find out that Yugi wasn't the only one that could beat him at a card game. There would be no holding back in this game, either, just because Seto was there.

Goosebumps broke out all over as he caught her look. The teasing was going to start all over again. If she did that, there was no way he'd be able to concentrate on the game at hand. Something about her made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside and his thoughts kept sliding to that pendant still around her neck. Every move she made made it sparkle and shine against the blue sweater she was wearing. A blue that set off her eyes, deep pools that he just wanted to stare at… He shook his head. Something told him that it was going to be an even longer night now.

Glancing around the table, he saw that Wheeler and Taylor were still organizing their cards. Amateurs. The rules for the game were simple enough to follow that he felt confident in his ability to defeat those two clowns at least. True, he wasn't used to a regular deck of cards and having so few cards to rely on but victory over those two should be as easy as ABC. His only true competition would be Téa and Yugi.

"Kaiba? It's your move," Joey said, almost nudging him with an elbow before he thought better of it. The fragile peace could be easily shattered if Kaiba thought he was being 'mean'. And he didn't relish the idea of what Téa would do to him.

Seto's eyes flicked up from his hand to Téa's face and he knew from her smirk that somehow he was in trouble already. Scanning the table, he saw five pennies in the bowl. Wheeler's contribution. Five threes, laid in a neat fan, stared back at him. Smirking back at her, his eyes on fire, he locked eyes with her and drew out the cards he needed from his hand. Five sevens were flawlessly laid on top of her threes. This was going to be interesting, he thought, as he saw her eyes widen in surprise.

"Nice move," she commented, a hint of a grin on her lips. He'd caught on but he wouldn't beat her. Tonight she was unstoppable and she still had thirteen cards in her hand.

"Aww man," Tristan muttered and threw five more pennies into the bowl. "Go ahead, Mokuba. Good luck."

The youngest Kaiba smiled widely and placed five nines over top his older brother's hand before taking a huge bite out of his slice of pizza.

Yugi looked to his left side, trying to judge Téa's impassive face before placing five tens on top. She was so hard to read when they were playing cards. Any other time, he could almost tell what she was thinking but tonight, she was in top form.

"Good. That was first hand," she said as her hands quickly and efficiently raked the cards in. "Do you two understand what's going on or do you want another slow hand?"

The slight emphasis she placed on those last two words sent a shiver up his back as he remembered the massage she'd given him in his office, just before Mokuba came bursting in. If she was going to play dirty, he was done for. There would be no return from that state of mind.

"I think we get it. You can go faster this hand," Mokuba replied, looking at her as he started his second slice of pizza. The kid could eat, she thought as he happily stuffed in a forkful of salad.

"All right, then. Since Yugi played last, he goes first this hand," Téa explained as he set four sixes down. Her face remained neutral as she seemingly pondered the cards in her hand. Yami stared intently at her. He'd never really watched her play cards before. Téa was a fair duelist but this game was something else entirely.

She laid four Kings down and sighed. That little act she'd given should have thrown them for a loop. Half her hand was gone already and there was no way anyone could take her on with what she still held.

"Téa!" Joey whined as he threw four more pennies into the bowl. The second hand and he still hadn't managed to play a card. He had a pretty good idea as to what position he was going to end up in. The same position he'd held for the last few years. 'Idiot.' At least Kaiba couldn't make fun of him. Thank God for small mercies and miracles.

"The luck of the draw," she replied sweetly, having a bite of salad as the hand continued around the table. Her eyes focussed on Seto once more. He was ready to start sweating – she could tell just by the glint in his eye. He had a really good poker face when he was duelling but this game was something totally different. The tip of her tongue traced the outline of her lower lip, ostensibly licking at a spot of dressing, and she watched in triumph as his eyes dropped to his cards and he gulped.

Four Aces floated out of his hand and landed gently on top of her cards. "Or just good strategizing," Seto commented as he heard Taylor sigh in exasperation and the metallic clink of more pennies in the 'pot'.

"Can you beat four Aces, Mokuba?" Yugi asked, watching the youngest Kaiba set down his third slice of pizza and throw two cards out. Two twos smashed into Kaiba's Aces on the table, scattering them around.

"Good job, Mokuba," Téa exclaimed, "Maybe you'll beat your brother at this game tonight." Mokuba beamed at her compliment and she felt Seto's smouldering eyes on her. So, he'd finally decided to try to join in her little game. Too bad, he was too late now to tempt her into distraction. She was invincible, she thought, sending a fiery look of her own back at him. No one noticed these little shared looks. They were too busy eating or staring at their hands, wondering what Téa was going to throw out at them next. They knew who ruled this 'duel'.

Mokuba laughed delightedly a second later as he set down seven Queens. "Beat that, Yugi." Mokuba's plate was now empty of food and he was eyeing the pizza boxes that had been removed to the counter. He sighed once and decided to wait until the game was over before getting more. There was also the possibility of dessert to think about.

"Now **that's **the luck of the draw," Tristan stated, also eyeing the pizza boxes on the counter. He'd only had four slices and some of Yugi's macaroni salad. Although Kaiba's salad looked tempting, he wasn't going to touch anything that guy had brought over.

"I can't beat that, Mokuba," Yugi admitted, throwing his own pennies into the bowl. Yami sighed. So far, his Light was not doing well against Téa. She was in control of this game and he had a sneaking suspicion that he really didn't want to play the next game. Losing to her **would** be a loss of face.

"Téa?" Mokuba asked. She didn't look fazed, not at all. In fact, she looked happy. Like the cat that just got the cream.

Not good. Not good at all, if anyone else had a hope in hell of winning this game and being declared President.

A single card landed face up on the Kings.

A single Joker.

Mokuba groaned. Victory was snatched from him by the turn of one card.

"Joey?" she asked and heard pennies once more. "Kaiba? I think you lost this hand. I believe you need to add some pennies in…" Téa purred at him. His eyes flared and his heart sped up. That was the same tone of voice she'd used when his shirt had been trapping his arms and she'd… Uh oh, there went his concentration right out the window. At least the blushing was under his control.

Each of his pennies made a separate clink as Téa raked the cards in. Smooth sailing from here. No one could touch her with the cards she had left in her hand. She'd be done in two more rounds and claim her rightful place as President once more.

Tristan's pennies plinked in just as she threw out her trump hand.

A pair of Jokers.

Silence around the table. There was that pin drop again.

"Guess no one can challenge that," she commented lightly, noting Joey's open mouth and Seto's glazed eyes. Beating Seto at a card game was easy as long as he was kept slightly off balance. Too bad Yugi didn't have the talent she had for that. "Oh, look at that. My move again." Her slightly flippant tone had Seto rolling his eyes. She would be insufferable when she won. Not 'if'. 'When.' Seto had no illusions as to what was coming next. Everyone chipped in two more pennies. That bowl was getting full.

Six Jacks stared at him, again lined up in a neat fan across the centre of the table, and a tight grin creased his lips. Wow.

If she ever took up dueling seriously, he was in trouble.

Crossing her hands behind her head and leaning back, she smiled. "And **that** is game over for me."

"I think that's the fastest you've ever won, Téa," Tristan replied, his pennies joining everyone else's in the bowl.

"So what happens now?" Mokuba asked, looking over his fan of cards at her. Poor Seto. Beaten by a girl, he thought, and then grinned. Not just any girl either, his girl_friend_. There had to be some way he could use it to his advantage.

"Now, you five fight it out for the remaining positions of Vice President, Neutrals, Vice Idiot and Idiot. I am the president."

"Wow, I like this game, Seto. Can we play it at home? I want to play it more so that next time **I** can beat Téa."

"We've been trying for years, Mokuba," Yugi said wryly, fiddling with the cards left in his hand.

Seto glanced down at his cards and concentrated. If he got control of the next hand, he had a good chance at making Vice Prez. And that would be better than anything those two yahoos could do. Hell, if they hadn't been able to beat Téa in years, he'd settle for a step under her. Mokuba caught on to his brother's shift in mood and a brilliant flash went off in his mind. Outwitting Joey and Tristan was a cakewalk. Now he understood why Seto refused to duel Joey anymore. There was no challenge in it. He just had to get Seto to finish his hand first and his plan could be put into action.

Silence enshrouded the table as Joey set down a pair of fours. The game continued on and Mokuba eagerly watched the dwindling number of cards in his brother's hand. A triumphant flash in his eyes alerted him to Seto's impending victory as the fourth, and final, Joker made its' appearance.

"Vice president," he stated succinctly as only Seto could. The smirk of satisfaction as he leaned back in his chair mirrored the one Téa gave as she announced her Presidency.

Everyone else at the table, except Téa, grimaced. They still had to play the rest of the game out and figure out the other positions so that the next game could start. And now was Mokuba's best opportunity to put his wickedly brilliant plan into action. Since no one else would leave the table in the middle of a game, Joey and Tristan couldn't follow Seto and Téa when he asked…

"Seto? Can I have a pop? I've been **really** good tonight and there's no more fruit punch left. Joey drank the last of it…" The look he sent his brother's way hopefully clued him in to the plan as he continued, "Would that be all right, Téa?"

The sweet, innocent voice and those puppy dog eyes didn't fool him for a second. There was a plan in motion here and Seto thanked the Higher Powers above that he was on his side. "If Téa says it's okay, then yes, you can have one."

"Please, Téa?" The sugar in that voice made her want to smile and hug him to her. He really was a sweet kid, especially when he was scheming to get them some alone time. She could see where this was headed already.

"Sure Mokuba, but I'll have to get you one from the basement. In fact, I might as well get everyone a pop. Yugi, any preferences?" Téa looked at her best friend and could see that he was concentrating hard. Must be talking to Yami about it, she thought.

"Um, how about a cream soda." Yugi shook his head slightly. That was one flavour he knew she always had on hand that the Spirit had yet to try. Yami nodded in agreement. New flavours to try were always a good thing. His Light knew him too well.

"Joey, Tristan?" she asked.

"Uh, cream soda sounds good t' me," Joey replied, still staring at his cards. If he got control of the next hand, assuming he could beat whatever Yugi threw out…

"How about a root beer. I haven't had one of those in a while," Tristan replied. Staring at his hand, he sighed. He had a bunch of singles in there and that was going to be hard to get rid of. Yugi had a penchant to throw out pairs and three of a kinds.

Both of them saw no immediate threat to Téa heading to the basement to get a few sodas and so were unprepared for Kaiba's next move.

"I'll help you," he stated. There would be no refusing that tone of voice. "Since we're both finished til the next game and carrying a few cans of soda can be tricky, I'll assist you."

"Thanks, S…Kaiba, that would be great." She barely managed to hide her blush at her second almost-slip-of-the-tongue. Thank the Higher Powers That Be that no one noticed. Joey and Tristan, however, were not impressed. Those two could not spend any time alone. How were they supposed to protect her when she wasn't in their sight and they were stuck playing a card game? That snake would be all over her in seconds to try to get some information. Seto Kaiba did not have any scruples at all. This time, there would be no Mokuba to protect her innocence. The look the two boys shared was full of frustration.

Too bad they didn't realize that the mischievous little scamp was the one who set up the whole situation deliberately.

And they thought that **Seto Kaiba** didn't have any scruples…

* * *

'Foiled again,' Seto thought smugly, controlling his urge to laugh maniacally at the whole scenario, as he and Téa departed the kitchen for the nether regions of the house. Joey and Tristan were forced to stay at the table to finish their game and he had a sneaking suspicion that Yugi, of all people, knew exactly what was going on between him and his best friend. At least they'd have more than 10 seconds alone this time around. Not **much **more but enough for his tongue to trace the same path hers had taken a while before. 

With a quick flick of her wrist, Téa turned the radio on as she walked past the little table it stood on. "Jingle Bell Rock" belted out merrily and she turned the volume up just a little more. 'Privacy' she mouthed at him as they made their way down the few stairs to the basement below. That was another thing he liked about her. She could read his mind.

Now that they were out of sight of prying eyes, he grasped her small hand in his own and stopped her from heading any further away from him. Her arched eyebrow and slight smile warmed him to the tips of his toes. He never realized how 'touchy-feely' being with Téa made him. It was such a strange feeling but… he liked it. She was soft and warm as he brought her closer and encircled his arms about her waist. The lingering scent of lemons teased his nose as he touched his lips gently to hers. He'd almost forgotten how sweet she tasted.

Turning the radio on had been a great idea, she thought as she sighed against his heated lips. It covered any inadvertent noises they might make during this oh-so tender moment. But the risk of discovery was outweighed by her need to be close to him. With Joey sitting between them, she couldn't even play 'footsies' with him under the table. That would have been a great way to distract him during the next game.

The embrace of lips was over a minute, or so, later and she rested her head against his chest, sighing once more. The secrecy had to end. And soon. She thought it was a pretty sad situation that they had to duck out of sight every time they wanted some 'together time'. Mokuba even had to enlist his help to co-ordinate these precious moments.

"You do realize that you lost a card game to me? You're now under me, according to the way the positions are laid out…"

"I wouldn't mind being under you anytime you want… laid out any**where** you want" His voice was only half-kidding. Her face immediately flushed, as she understood exactly what that last comment meant.

"Seto…" she reprimanded. And it wasn't that she didn't like that idea – it just gave her a wicked mental image and made it hard for her to breathe properly with him so close to her and all. The steamy bathroom popped into her mind once more.

With his fingers running through the silky strands of her hair, he whispered, "You're such a tease."

Her soft laugh rumbled through his chest as she replied, just as softly, "No, I'm not. This is just a preview of the next time we're alone."

"Let's just get the pop and head back upstairs. If you keep talking like this, I'm bound to do something neither of us will regret but which will involve a lot more time." He ruffled his fingers through her hair and kissed the top of her head before releasing her from the grip of his arms.

"All right," she replied, wondering exactly what that would be. She shrugged. No use in pondering it now. She'd probably find out soon enough.

Stepping past his sleeping bag as it lay close to the entrance to the largest room in the basement, she headed for the mini-bar in the far corner. Her father had built it himself, just before he got rid of all of his power tools. The ones that were supposed to be stored in the shed that he had built last summer. No need to mention that it was just the other side of rickety either. The weight of the fridge was the only thing that was keeping it from falling over. Grabbing out the requested cans of pop, she handed three over to Seto, who stood silently behind her, visibly admiring her form. This time, her arched eyebrow warned him to knock it off… or else.

A sharp, but muffled, scream from somewhere above them caught their attention as they headed back for the stairs. What the hell…? Racing to the front foyer, they heard yet another scream although this one sounded more like a shriek of laughter. Glancing out of the small window to one side of the front door, she abruptly laughed.

"It's just the neighbourhood kids outside in the snow. Looks like a snowball fight is about to start…" Téa stated, watching four or five kids run passed her house. Must be going to get Drake and Harvey, she thought wryly.

"A snowball fight? That sounds like fun," Mokuba exclaimed, his wild, black-haired mop of a head popping into view from the kitchen. "Can we go join them? We finished this game. We can come back in later, have dessert, and play another game. I want to learn the rest of the rules you were talking about earlier. Then maybe we could have some hot chocolate, too. PLEASE?" Those puppy-dog eyes again. It was no wonder that Seto couldn't resist him, especially when they were on full-blast – like now.

"Yeah, Téa. That does sound like fun. We haven't had a good snowball fight in years. Since before Duellist Kingdom," Yugi added, his voice echoing around the living room. Yami was entranced by the idea of playing in the snow and chuckled gleefully at the idea, almost rubbing his hands together in anticipation. There had never been snow in Ancient Egypt, as Yugi knew full well. This was going to be a rare treat.

"So much for needing the pop now." Téa and Seto entered into the kitchen to find the bowl full of pennies and Tristan and Joey still playing their last couple of hands. Yugi and Mokuba must be the neutrals if those two were still hard at it. Setting the pop down on the counter by the sink, she turned just as Tristan threw out his last card.

"HAH, who's the 'Idiot' now, Joey?"

Seto refrained from anything at all, although he almost bit through his tongue to stop from commenting.

"Aww man. I never win at dis game. Why do I keep playin' it? Year after year, it's de same ole' story. Let's go have that snowball fight. Maybe dat'll help me change my luck," Joey muttered. Téa and Kaiba had only been gone for a few minutes and she seemed to be all right. Maybe he hadn't tried to press her for information. Maybe he was waiting for a better moment. He'd better tell Tristan to keep a good eye on her when they went outside.

It would be too easy for those two to disappear into the depths of the dark, where he could grill her to his heart's content.

Thus began the process of getting ready to go outside and do battle.

* * *

Too bad they didn't know just how soon the secrecy was going to end. 

The **big** wrench was coming.

* * *

Woohoo! This chapter is finally done. Two chapters (possibly three) to go before this 'short' little Christmas fic is finished and I can start my next one. 

I had posted a one-shot called "I Need to Get This Out" but I decided it was a little rough and I removed from the site so that I can flesh it out a little bit. It might end up being a one-shot in two parts…

Thanks for all of the great reviews and thanks for taking the time out of your own busy lives to read this.

The next chapter is entitled "Snow Wars". Heehee, this should be good.


	6. Snow Wars Part 1

**Snow Wars- Part I** – Chapter 6

The second last chapter although this one is so long that I've split it in two and I may just have to add another one. I don't know. I haven't decided yet. It all depends on how well this one ends. Sniff. I'm going to hate to see this fic go but it's time to move on to other ideas that I have for our favourite couple.

The stress at my old job is over with! My creative flow has returned and the plot bunny has promised no more to-kill-ya. Rum is now the drink of choice. Strawberry daiquiris for all! Hehehehe!

And thanks to all of you who reviewed my crazy little one-shot, "I Need to Get This Out". I had only expected two reviews and those would have been from my friend **bandgeek77** (who hasn't called me in **FOREVER**!). So thanks again for your great and heartfelt comments.

Cul-de-sac circular neighbourhood. Kind of like a big pie with one street leading in and out. One street lamp in the centre.

Disclaimer: I still own nothing more than about 600 cards (including three Blue Eyes White Dragons), a few pencils and a calendar or two. Neither do I own Star Trek: The Next Generation.

On with the show…

* * *

The night was cold and crisp, the hint of another shower of snow blowing in the wind. The snow crunched merrily underfoot as boots made contact with cement. The slight breeze carried away the whispered words that were softly spoken behind mittened hands. Battle plans were laid and strategies thought through as the six from Téa's house trudged down the driveway to join the waiting group of other neighbourhood youngsters. Tristan, Yugi and Joey had hung back behind the other three on this little walk. So far, "Operation Keep Away" had been a complete and utter disaster. If they didn't do something to protect her, it would only be a matter of time before Kaiba got what he wanted from Téa. They were going to have to watch that pair very carefully tonight. It would be too easy to be separated once the snowball fight began. 

"Okay, now Tristan, you 'n' I have to keep dose two apart. We can't afford t' have him trap her somewheres out here by demselves. You keep yer eye on him and I'll cover Téa. And remember, don't lose sight o' him, no matter what. I mean dat, Tris. Yugi, you can help him cover dat snake. He's too slippery for jus' Tristan to watch. We gotta be extra careful out here, especially if we play like last time when we got to use the whole neighbourhood as our battleground." Joey ran a hand through his hair, butterflies in his stomach at the thought of Téa at Kaiba's mercy somewhere in the dark and cold out here. She was too trusting for her own good and Kaiba would use that to his advantage.

"All right already, Joey. We all understand how important it is for those two to be kept apart. But we have to be incon… inconspic…" Tristan sighed in frustration. "We can't let them know what we're doing."

The Spirit laughed softly as Yugi chuckled silently under his breath. Tristan had never had too much luck with long words. If only they knew what was really going on and that this whole operation was a complete waste of their time. But Yugi was not one to spoil anyone's fun and it wasn't as if he hadn't tried to open them up to the idea back in the kitchen. They were both too stubborn to see what Yugi could see as clear as crystal now. And he was happy that those two had found each other. Maybe she would be a good influence on him. Yami agreed wholeheartedly on that one. Yugi blinked a couple of times, trying to clear his vision. Something must have gotten into his eye to make it tear up like that.

The other three were oblivious to the nefarious plans that were laid out literally behind their backs. Seto had to thrust his hands deep into his pockets and name off the cards in his deck in reverse alphabetical order to resist the overwhelming urge to wrap his arm around her shoulders and pull her close to him, letting her body heat mingle with his. Similarly, she had to keep thinking of her biology teacher, Mr. Wilson, droning on and on about mitochondria to overcome **her** urge to entwine her arm through his and press in closer to him. A single wrong move on either side right now would dig up the freshly buried hatchet.

"So, what's the plan?" Mokuba asked, tugging on her gloved hand to get her attention. Her eyes had that faraway look, he noticed, and that meant she was thinking about his older brother. Gross. Mokuba hoped her never got that dopey about girls.

"Well, how about we all introduce ourselves first when we get there," Téa suggested, casting a glance behind her. That gave her the excuse to let her eyes linger on Seto and the single lock of hair lifted by a gust of air. A shiver rippled through him as he caught her look and it definitely had nothing to do with the cold.

The other group of neighbourhood kids looked expectantly as the newcomers came to a stop at the end of Téa's driveway.

"Long time…"

"…no see." Two identically dressed boys were the first to greet them.

"Hi, Ryan and Bryan. You're right, it's been quite a long time." She beamed at the green hat covered twins and they blushed a deeper red. The two were just at the age of noticing girls, a stage that Mokuba was about to reach momentarily. "Let's all introduce ourselves. There are some new faces here that I'm sure you don't recognize."

The group stood around in a sort of circle formation so Tristan, standing next to Téa, decided to start the whole thing off. Everyone would eventually follow after him.

"I'm Tristan." A quick wave of his hand.

"Joey." A sheepish grin and a hand through his fringe.

"Yugi." A big smile and crinkled eyes.

"Mokuba." A grin that mirrored Yugi's in intensity.

"Kaiba." Crossed arms and a thin-lipped smirk.

"Julie." A big smile and a flash of white teeth that got both Tristan's and Joey's attention.

"Ryan."

"Bryan." The twins waved simultaneously.

"Megan." Big, blue eyes peered out from under curly, blonde hair, making Mokuba's breath catch and his heart skip a beat.

"Drake." He eyed Téa openly and appreciatively.

"Harvey." His eyes glanced over at Téa and his smile grew wider. Seto's eyes narrowed as a knot of jealousy twisted through his gut. Those two were going to need watching.

Téa, oblivious to the ogling by the two teenaged boys, smiled and said, "And I'm Téa. Now that we all know each other, let's get this snowball fight going. Now, have you already discussed the rules of engagement?" She looked over at Julie expectantly.

The blonde gave a last, sidelong glance at Tristan before turning her attention to the brown haired girl. "Not yet. Got anything in mind?"

"Free for all, no head shots?" Joey suggested, disgust in his eyes at Tristan's moon face. A quick elbow jab to the side and a nod in Kaiba's direction got his friend's attention once more.

"The whole neighbourhood is fair game for hiding as well," Megan piped up, eyeing Mokuba shyly. He gulped and turned his head away. She was sooooo pretty. Maybe girls weren't so bad after all…

"Sounds good," Drake replied, his smirk making Seto's blood boil. How **dare** he look at **his** Téa in** that** way. Insolent young pup, he thought, although in reality Drake, and Harvey, were only a year younger. Obviously, the Kaiba name didn't impress upon either of them the danger they were in. The snowball fight would prove that they should fear him.

"Great, now to the count of three, scatter in all directions. At the count of ten, fire at will. And remember, EVERYONE is your enemy," Téa announced enthusiastically. Good thing she was a crack shot with a snowball. She'd proven that a few days earlier with Seto. Hopefully, he remembered that since he was her first target. Kissing him was all well and good but sometimes nailing him with a snowball felt just as good.

The answering smiles from the rest of the group showed agreement to the rules.

Thus, the epic battle was to proceed once more.

* * *

"One!" Téa shouted, turning from the group and running towards the screen of bushes that lined the driveway between her house and Julie's. Perfect cover from which to shoot at anyone that came near her. Everyone else seemed to pick a different direction and it looked like the whole neighbourhood would really be the battleground once more tonight. At least she lived in a cul-de-sac. Much easier to deal with than if she'd lived on a regular straight street. 

"Two!"

The breeze blew once more and she smiled. She was downwind of everyone. No one would hear her creeping up on them. A single, crystalline snowflake glittered before her eyes as she settled behind her cover. Perfect. Snow cover was about to hit. Seto would never know what hit him. She could be as silent as a ghost when the occasion called for it.

"Three." She stayed behind her makeshift cover as stillness descended. Everyone had taken cover in a different spot from what she could tell. She hadn't been idle either, her hands quickly forming a small pile of snowballs in front of her. Cradling her ammunition, she crept out carefully from her spot, through a pair of bushes that weren't rooted as close to each other as they should have been. A flash of white coat caught her attention and she grinned.

Target spotted.

* * *

"Four!" Téa's voice came from somewhere near her house. How was he supposed to keep track of her if she kept herself hidden? For all he knew, Kaiba had already wriggled his way over there and was about to pounce. Poor Téa, she wouldn't know what hit her if he did that. He had to find her… wait a sec… there was a flash of blonde hair and pink coat. Julie… now she was cute. Really cute. As cute as that Tracy girl at **The Gap** had been earlier in the week. Joey wondered if he could somehow corner Julie and get her phone number so… 

Shaking his head, he stopped that train of thought. She was, right now, his enemy. And he had to protect Téa at all costs. How he was torn. He wanted to follow that pink coat. Maybe he'd ask Téa about her later. For now, he was going to concentrate on **finding** her. She'd all but disappeared, her whitish grey coat blending in well in the darkness and snow. Speaking of which…

A snowflake landed on his nose and he groaned as he looked up at the sky. Full of snow. Great, just great! "Operation Keep Away" had just gotten a million times harder. A flash of pink flew across his field of vision once more. Well, Téa **was** a big girl now. She'd be okay for a couple of minutes by herself while he went in search of the beauty in pink. Joey left his position near Drake's house and made a beeline across Julie's front yard towards Téa's place, trying to be as invisible as possible.

* * *

"Five!" Téa's voice came from somewhere to his right. Damn this neighbourhood! It was more like a park with all of the bushes and trees on each property providing enough cover to hide a herd of elephants. The single street lamp in the middle did little to illuminate anything outside of a 50-yard radius. The only other light on the whole street were the few strings of Christmas lights strung up on Téa's house and one other. How was he supposed to find her in this cursed darkness? 

Then he grinned. Why should he find her? Seto knew vaguely where she had hidden herself. Maybe he could tempt her out by making a target of himself. His white trench coat was a dead giveaway and she was a good shot. Playing hurt the first time had worked last week. He wondered if she would fall for it again. He could then… unless she decided to give him another snow wash first. That had been truly brilliant on her part.

Standing behind a tree, his back to the house next to Téa's, he didn't know that he'd already been spotted and radar locked on. The gentle breeze clacked the branches of the tree together, making it hard for him to hear if anyone was approaching him from any direction. The falling snow and vast number of trees wasn't helping any either.

"Six!" Shoot, that sounded closer than before. Was she coming closer? He scanned around him slowly, looking for any kind of movement in the still night. Nothing moved except for the branches being shaken by another breeze. The snowflakes were falling harder now, curtailing his view of the area around him.

The whitish grey-coated figure peeked out from behind yet another tree and began to take careful aim, a smile lighting up her features.

* * *

Yugi could barely hear Téa hollering "Six!" from his position across the street, near the twins' house. He'd come all the way over here to get away from Joey's little mission. He wanted nothing to do with it really. Well, that and the fact that Téa was a really good shot and had much longer legs than he had. 

The snow swirled and whirled over his head, obscuring his vision in the inky darkness. The clouds hung low and fat over the city, promising another good snowfall through the night. Perfect time for a sneak attack. He'd seen the twins heading over this way as well. They, at least, were on his level. The last snowball fight between them had come to a draw. All three of them had been covered head to toe with snow. Tonight, he meant to settle the score. Those two wouldn't escape him that easily. Yami eagerly awaited the challenge and revelled in the feel of the snow falling across his aibou's cheeks and nose.

Settling down behind a massive tree that sat on the front yard of the property, Yugi began stockpiling snowballs in front of him. It was better to be armed and ready than caught unawares. The twins were good and were more than likely working together. He'd never seen them apart.

Little did he know how right he was. A two pronged attack was about to be launched. The twins also remembered the last snowball fight.

* * *

"Seven!" Téa's voice was little more than a loud whisper to him. 

Mokuba settled down behind a huge bush on a property two houses away from Téa's. His heart beat erratically and he was pretty darn sure that running to his hiding spot hadn't caused it. What was it about Megan that had caught his eye? Her eyes were really blue and her hair was curly but Susan in his class had the same thing but his heart didn't skip a beat when he looked at her. Girls were icky but Megan…

He shook his head. Now was not the time to think about girls like that. He'd had enough of **that** yesterday when he'd walked in on Seto and Téa. It wasn't as if **he** wanted to kiss her although it somehow did sound sort of tempting to do what he'd witnessed the day before. Seto had looked like he'd been enjoying it. Maybe there was something to this liking girls business. But what if she didn't like dirt and frogs and such? What would he do then? Too much confusion! Girls were nothing but trouble. They hated getting dirty and they always smelled nice.

Squatting down, he began to prepare his stockpile of ammunition. He wasn't going to budge from this spot. They were going to have to drag him kicking and screaming out of there. Everyone else was too big for him to get a good shot at. But Megan… no he had to stop thinking of her. SHE was his enemy, for now. After the snowball fight… well, that was later. He had to think about the here and now. He was not going to be beat by a GIRL!

A pair of blue eyes regarded him from around the trunk of a tree ten feet away. The shy smile had been replaced by a knowing smirk. Too bad Mokuba didn't realize that he was the prey and the predator was getting ready to pounce.

* * *

"Eight!" Téa's voice rang through the neighbourhood like a bell. 

Tristan peeked out from around the far corner of Téa's house. This was a pretty safe position. He knew Téa was close by. So what if Joey said he'd watch her. Another set of eyes couldn't hurt. And he'd seen Julie run in this direction, sort of, as well. Why hadn't Téa mentioned her before? She must be new to the neighbourhood. He didn't remember her being at their last snowball fight. Hmm, she **was** cute. Cuter than the girl at the tree stand and even Tracy at **The Gap**. Maybe he'd find her and get her phone number since Joey was no closer to letting him date his sister, Serenity. His exact words had been "Ova' my dead body." Or something like that. Sigh. At least Duke couldn't date her either. There was some solace in that at least.

His gloved hands worked quickly as he made and stocked at least a dozen snowballs in front of him. If Kaiba was looking for Téa, he was in for a world of hurt if Tristan ran across him first. Headshots may not be allowed but that didn't mean he couldn't nail him in other, more sensitive areas. One good shot there and they wouldn't have to worry about him confronting Téa for the rest of the night. Although, knowing Kaiba as well as he did, that was probably as hard and cold as the rest of him… Ooo bad mental image.

A flash of pink coat caught his attention. That was Julie. She was the only one wearing a pink coat. Now he was truly torn. Should he stay here and protect Téa or follow after a girl he actually had a shot with? Well, Joey **had** said he was going to watch over Téa and it wasn't as if she was in any **immediate** danger from Kaiba. And Yugi was supposed to watch Kaiba too, so… Hormones won over common sense and Tristan silently stalked after the pink-coated girl, his footsteps muffled by the squishy snow on the grass and the wind that had started to pick up now that the snow was falling once more.

Julie glanced behind her, hoping that he was following her. He was sooooo cute… and he was going to be her first victim. She grinned silently and slowed her pace, waiting for him to catch up to her, as she dashed across Harvey's front yard.

Neither of them saw Joey creeping through the bushes in front of Téa's house.

Joey never saw Tristan begin to give chase either. His eyes were focussed blindly on that pink flash of coat.

* * *

"Nine!" Téa's voice sounded excited, ecstatic even, as she came closer to the end of the countdown. 

Drake smiled. He'd been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. He had her in his sights. She was crouched down behind a tree between her and Julie's houses, not paying any attention to who was behind her. When she'd first started the countdown, he'd made a beeline for his house and then used the cover of darkness and snow to slink across two properties to come within fifteen feet of her.

Tonight would be the night that she'd finally agree to go out with him or she would be buried underneath a storm of snowballs. She'd refused him every year for the last three. He'd ask her out, his voice quavering from nerves and/or the onset of puberty and she'd smile politely and say "No" with a little laugh. Her eyes were always kind when she did it but he couldn't understand **why** she kept turning him down. It wasn't as if he wasn't cute and nice. All the girls at his high school said so. With his resolve strengthened, he straightened up a bit and began to skulk closer yet. He was not going to be denied again.

He missed seeing two things in his pursuit of his prey. One, Seto Kaiba had spotted him while he'd been daydreaming and was stalking closer. Seto may not have found Téa yet, but the upstart teenager would probably lead him to her and get caught in crossfire as Téa fired at him. And if not, he'd be a good warm up for target practice. Two, Drake didn't see Harvey closing in from the opposite side of Téa's house.

* * *

She was so close he could almost smell her. Turning his head slowly, he panned the area. Stupid snow was obscuring his vision and the wind was covering any noise a potential enemy (like Drake) might be making near him. 

Harvey was bound and determined to get to Téa before Drake did. Though this time would probably end up like the last snowball fight where she'd pelted them mercilessly until they had relented and surrendered. Harvey was going to ask her out this time and he wasn't going to take 'NO' for an answer. Every time Drake asked her out first always ruined his own chances of doing the same. And she always said 'No' to Drake. Well, this year she was going to say 'Yes' to Harvey, come hell or high-water.

She'd be a fool not to accept his request for a date. He was tall, good-looking, on the football team (second string) and the debate team. Girls swooned when he walked down the hallway. And he was only a freshman. Why was she playing hard to get? Did she enjoy being pursued? Was that her angle? Well, he would enjoy making the catch of the century when she finally said 'Yes' to him. All he had to do was find her first.

"TEN!"

* * *

The silence that had descended across the neighbourhood was shattered as screams, yells and the sound of running footsteps echoed through the vast numbers of trees and bushes that lived there. The neighbours weren't worried at all at the amount of noise those kids generated. It was just the renewal of the Christmas Snow Wars. It had been a while since they'd happened. It was about time, too. 

The War had begun once more.

* * *

**End of Part I**

Sorry, faithful readers, I had to split this into two separate chapters. Otherwise, it would have been over 10,000 words for just one chapter. Don't worry though, the second part will be up shortly. Very shortly.

Thanks for bearing with the long wait between updates. School is done in two weeks and I'll be able to wholeheartedly concentrate on finishing this little tale.

Aphrael21;)

PS: I need some good driving tunes. Songs you can rock to while you're driving in the car. Making a CD for my friend who just got her first car… please? Look, I gave you a two, nice, long chapters, some funny bits… pretty please? Either tell me in your reviews or email me at: dorothyinkorea(at)hotmail(dot)com - Thanks a whole bunch!


	7. Snow Wars Part 2

**Snow Wars – Part II** – Chapter 7

Hehehehe, I hope you all enjoyed Chapter 6, as it was the set up for all of the action that is going to come in this chapter. Like I said before, if I'd kept them together, it would have been one, huge chapter. It was just a lot easier to split it up.

Wow, this was even longer than anticipated as well. Now, there is a third snowball fight chapter on the way. Have fun, kids, and remember to review!

This story just never wants to end…

PS: ANY kind of music, just send along the name of the band and the song, will do for my CD as long as it has a good, fast beat. Whatever is your favourite song in the car is eligible. At least I'm starting early. Her 'official' car possession takes place in June.

**RAIN5101** – remember, the to-kill-ya is yours since I have the rum/daiquiri queen mixing up another batch of yummylicious drinks. Who's ready to party?

Disclaimer: I still don't own it. And since I probably never will, I'll just have to learn to live with it.

* * *

_The silence that had descended across the neighbourhood was shattered as screams, yells and the sound of running footsteps echoed through the vast numbers of trees and bushes that lived there. The neighbours weren't worried at all at the amount of noise those kids generated. It was just the renewal of the Christmas Snow Wars. It had been a while since they'd happened. It was about time, too._

_The War had begun once more._

* * *

Poor Mokuba didn't know what had hit him when Megan came flying around the bush he was crouched behind. She barrelled into him hard enough to knock him over into his little pile of snowballs. The ends of her long, blonde curls tickled his cheeks, cheeks that were quite red and not from the cold, as she leaned over. She did smell nice. 

"Hi, Mokuba, was it?" Megan peered down at her captive. His black hair was all over the place and for some reason, her fingers itched to put it back in place. His grey-violet eyes reflected surprise and inside she was pleased. He hadn't heard her coming for the last ten feet. Her tracking skills were getting better it seemed. The dark and snow may have had something to do with her success as well.

"Yeah, my name… is Mokuba. And you're Megan…" The tumble they'd both taken in the snow had covered them in the fluffy, white stuff and the little light from the street lamp had formed a corona of glitter over her head. She looked like an angel. Why didn't he like girls again? It was hard to think when someone so pretty was sitting on his chest.

"Yup. You wanna know something?" Her eyes sparkled and his heart missed that beat once more.

"What?"

She bent closer to him, her fragrant curls covering his face even more as her lips came close to his ear. "I think you're cute."

Why was he so hot all of a sudden? It couldn't have anything to do with what she'd just said, could it?

"Really? You think I'm cute?" He couldn't quite keep the note of happiness out of his voice as she smiled down at him.

"Uh huh. And you're even cuter when you blush!" Her smile widened as his eyes did the same.

"I'm **NOT** blushing! I'm just… cold," he retorted heatedly. No way, he wasn't blushing but his heart knew the truth. It was beating erratically and the only thing he could see was the curve of her lips, how shiny and soft looking they were.

"Yes, you are." He couldn't fool her. She was used to making boys feel all goofy around her. It was fun to watch them get all clumsy and stuff in her presence. Her dad said she had a gift for it and that she'd gotten it from her mom.

The blush on his cheeks passed the red spectrum and entered into the violet stage when she leaned down closer to him once more, those shiny, glossy lips coming within millimetres of his. The pit of his stomach was somehow full of butterflies and the kiss he'd seen Seto and Téa sharing yesterday flashed across his mind. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, after all, he thought, his eyes closing in anticipation of what he assumed was to come.

Wet flakes of snow clung to his eyelashes and slid down his cheeks as he lay there in disbelief. A giggle to his left let him know she was still nearby as he sat up slowly, wiping the snow from his face with a mittened hand.

"Gotcha!" she shouted and laughed delightedly.

Disbelief shone in his eyes before he grinned wickedly and threw a quick snowball at her. He missed.

"Missed me, missed me, now ya gotta KISS me…" Megan taunted winningly from a few feet further away. Mokuba got slowly to his feet and thought about how to get her back. This was going to be a lot of fun. Let the chase begin.

And so the younger brother followed the older brother's example.

He'd gotten his first snow wash from a pretty, blue-eyed girl.

* * *

Julie peered out from behind the bush where she was hidden to see where he was. He should have already found her by now. Her tracks were clear enough to follow even with the fresh snow that was falling heavily down around her, covering her hair. A flash of blonde on the far side of Harvey's yard alerted her to someone's presence. So, **he** had seen her cross Téa's yard, too. Good. Everything was going according to plan. Her preys were near by and her arms were full of ready-to-deliver snowballs. 

A flash of brown hair coming from by the road caught her attention as well. Finally, he was here and right on time. They'd be so much easier to pick off together instead of her hunting them down one by one. She watched as they drew closer to each other and smiled. They still hadn't noticed the other's presence. Well, that would be remedied shortly, she thought, as they moved closer to her hiding spot. Maybe they had finally noticed her tracks in the snow.

And they were getting closer to her, that was true but they hadn't yet realized that another was there until…

**SNAP**

Tristan froze as he heard a twig break from close to his left, just around the tree next to his. Maybe it was her, Julie, about to jump out in front of him with her arms outstretched, reaching for him…

Joey cursed silently as the snap of the twig under his foot reverberated around him. An indrawn hiss of breath came from close to his right, just around the tree he was hiding behind. Maybe it was Julie…

Silent mirth shook her shoulders as she watched the two boys peer around opposite sides of the trees they were hiding behind. The tree trunks themselves were enormous, as was only proper since they were about 40 years old. The long, sweeping branches, the snow and the darkness were the perfect shelter, too. Not seeing anything on that side, Joey leaned around the opposite side…

… and Tristan still saw nothing as he peered around the other side. What was going on? Where had that noise come from? Was Julie **not** waiting for him? Was that noise just a weird echo from the other screams and shouts that were spreading through the neighbourhood? Or was it something more sinister? He'd better keep his wits about him just to be on the safe side. It wouldn't do to have anyone find out that he wasn't performing his task of watching Kaiba for "Operation Keep Away".

Joey shook his head at his own paranoia. That hiss of breath had to have been Julie. She was just leading him on a merry chase. After all, who could resist the Wheeler charm? Memories of Tracy threatened to break across his mind but he stuffed them down mercilessly. Now was definitely not the time to think about **that**. Well, Julie was about to get a rare treat. He, Joey Wheeler, was going to surprise her by jumping out and saying…

"Hey der, gorgeous," Joey said suavely, his eyes closed so he missed the total look of shock that passed across Tristan's features at seeing his best friend instead of a beautiful girl standing there.

"Joey? What the **hell** are you doing here?" Tristan exclaimed as he scooped up some snow between his hands and readied it for firing action. "Who's watching Téa? At least Yugi's got Kaiba covered."

"Tristan! When did you get here? Téa? I was following Julie…" His voice wavered off. Caught, nailed, busted. Damn.

"Julie? I was following Julie, too." Tristan took advantage of Joey's moment of confusion and struck with the snowball in his hands. Dead centre on the chest. Good one.

"Hey! What was that for?" Joey hurriedly made a snowball of his own and fired it off. Tristan had the presence of mind to duck. Years of snowball fighting with Joey had earned him a sixth sense when it came to where his snowballs were headed. Joey, unfortunately, hadn't picked up anything like that.

""Operation Keep Away" was your own stupid idea and here you are not even following through with it! Now you're after another girl I like, just like the one at the tree stand!" Tristan got another one off and ducked behind the tree. He needed to stockpile. Joey was muscling in on his territory again. Just like the time with the girl at the tree stand. He owed him for that one and the scratch across his nose too, even though Joey had battled the vegetables that night.

"Well, uh, ya see Tris…" Joey started to say until a muffled laugh came from the corner of Harvey's house. "Hey, what was dat?"

Tristan stopped in his tracks, his ears picking up the same sounds as Joey. Squinting his eyes shut a little bit, he could see clouds of steamy breath and a glint of golden hair. His mouth tightened into a sharp smile. So, that was her little game, eh, he thought to himself, luring them both out here so she could nail them both. Well, if Tristan Taylor had anything to say about it, that wasn't going to happen. "Psst… Joey!"

"What?" Joey caught on to Tristan's whisper and whispered back. He looked in the same direction but all he could see was some clouds of…

"See? She's trying to get us in closer so she can nail us. She wasn't really after either one of us. We were baited here. You know what this means, right Joey?" Tristan had always been a little quicker on the uptake during moments like these. It took Joey a second or two longer to comprehend and he waited impatiently for a response.

"Oooh, I get it. She'd jus' waitin' to hit us wit' her snowballs, is dat it? Now we turn da tables on her," Joey whispered back, crouching down on his haunches to make a few more snowballs.

"Master of the obvious," Tristan muttered to himself before yelling, "Hey, Joey! What didya do that for?" in a loud, clear voice. The clouds of breath were slowly moving closer.

At least when he caught on, he caught on quick to the rest of the plan, "I saw her first, so back off Tristan." A half-hearted attempt at a throw made them both chuckle softly as Julie's footsteps could now be heard crunching across the yard, closer and closer to them.

"No way, Joey. This is just like the other night with the tree stand girl. I'm gonna teach you a lesson right here, right now!" Tristan hardly had to act that part out. He **was** still miffed about that night, now that he thought about it. And the fact that Joey didn't trust him enough to let him date his sister.

By this point, Julie was close enough to the boys to see what was going on through the snow that continued to fall. She couldn't believe they were really fighting over her. It was cute when Drake and Harvey did it but Tristan and Joey were older than those two dorks were. And older men were way more exciting. This was turning out better than she'd planned, much better.

"Tristan, no man. C'mon, can't we talk dis ova' like…" Joey pleaded, having a hard time hiding the glee in his voice. He sounded breathless but that was okay. It could be mistaken for fear.

"The time for talk is over. You're gonna get what's coming to you now," Tristan threatened and had to hold his sides to stop the laughter that was ready to bubble up.

Moving closer still to the two 'fighting' boys, Julie didn't see the look pass between them. A look that was about to be her undoing. Poor Julie, she'd never messed with guys like this before.

"Joey, count of three, we fire," Tristan whispered between enraged, meaningless yells. He could just make out Julie's form as she came around the tree Joey had hidden behind. Her cheeks were rosy and the tip of her nose was a cute, bright red. Her hair was full of snow and the pink jacket no longer distracted him. She'd been out to get him with a snowball so he figured that turn about was fair play. "Remember, no head shots."

"Okay, one… two… three!"

Sure enough, Julie was caught in the crossfire as she was ambushed from two sides, snowballs pelting her legs from thigh to ankle. Tristan and Joey were not to be underestimated. It had just taken them longer to realize that Téa's words were true. Tonight, everyone was their enemy. Julie had found out firsthand the consequences of trying to lead them on a merry little chase.

Shock held her still for a moment, her arms tightening around her armload of snowballs before realization struck. Her preys had become the predators. Well, this was a switch. And then she grinned. Quite a nice surprise, really. Boys usually didn't want to hit her with snowballs – usually they wanted to kiss her in the snow. These two were different and she liked that.

"Gotcha!" Tristan cried as he scored another shot to her calf. This was too easy. How could she just stand there and let them fire on her at will unless… Looking down at the ground, he realized the mess he and Joey were in now. All of the useable snow in the area had gone into the last six hits they'd scored on her and unless they moved, NOW, they were sitting ducks. After all, it wasn't who hit who first that declared the winner; it was how much snow they were wearing at the end of it. He moved to grab Joey's coat to remove themselves to safety and saw Julie's eyes glint knowingly. He had a feeling that he and Joey were going to be white from neck to toes in just a minute or two.

"Joey, RUN!"

Julie grinned as she readied her first attack. The blonde one, Joey, was going down. Snowballs AWAY.

Another merry chase began as she pelted both Joey and Tristan from behind as they ran for cover across Harvey's yard.

* * *

Yami was almost breathless in anticipation of Téa hollering that last, final number. A snowball fight. Wonder of wonders! White, frozen water that fell from the heavens seemed a miracle to him and yet Yugi took it as a commonplace, everyday, ordinary occurrence. 

Yugi chuckled softly to himself at Yami's thoughts as he crouched down lower behind his makeshift shelter behind the bush. He'd grow bored of it in the next month or two.

'_Never! This is something I will never tire of. Like effervescent beverages called 'pop' and cream puffs from the bakery, it will always be wondrous and amazing to me.'_

The deep, delighted laughter that followed made Yugi's heart a lot lighter. They'd all been through some dark times over the last couple of years and Yugi was determined to let his other half experience some fun for a change. As long as it didn't involve making any more cookies in the oven. That was one time he didn't want a repeat of. Cleaning the oven after **that** mess had taken **weeks**.

"TEN!"

'_Now, let the fun begin,' Yugi thought and Yami agreed. _

'_We shall prevail against our foes. Those twins are going up!'_

'_Uh, Yami, the phrase is 'going down'' Yugi grinned at his other self and saw him smirk in self-deprecation. By now, Yugi was used to the Pharaoh just appearing next to him, like a ghost out of thin air. _

'_Yes, going down. I shall endeavour to remember that,' Yami said softly, his jewelled gaze facing out towards the yard, checking for any possible enemies._

Ryan crept closer yet, knowing his brother, Bryan, was across from him. Yugi would be trapped between the two of them and would never realize what had hit him. Escape was unlikely. Resistance was futile. He smiled a little more widely at the Star Trek reference to the Borg. That was a great show. So many weird things happened to the crew on board. He and Bryan had spent many a night discussing the probability of such things happening to them. Unfortunately, the results were always the same. Zero, zip, zilch, nada, negatory. Cool things like that never came up on Earth. It was only in space that that could happen. Boring old Earth. He kicked a lump of snow out of his path and quickly steadied himself before he fell over. He had to stay on track and wait for his older brother's signal.

Bryan stared ahead, seeing the tiniest hint of movement behind the bushes in front of his living room window. So that was where he'd stashed himself this year. Thought that was a good hiding spot did he? Well, he'd soon be found out and a winner between them would finally be declared when Yugi showed up covered neck to knickers in snow.

There was something different about Yugi this year. During the last snowball fight, he hadn't seemed as confident, had been more timid than he and his brother had been. He was, however, now the great and mighty King of Games. That had to be a great confidence booster. But it wouldn't stop Bryan from making him look like a mini-snowman, especially that crazy hair of his. Looking across the yard, he saw Ryan staring at him, waiting for the signal to begin. A slow nod of the head and a wink later and the two of them raced towards the bush where Yugi was hidden screaming like banshees.

"**GOTCHA YUGI!**" Ryan hollered at the top of his young lungs and threw in a snowball.

Not a whisper of sound greeted them as they peered around it, expecting to see a wide-eyed Yugi shivering in terror and covered in snow. No such luck. The only thing there was an impression of two feet and no footsteps leading out. Where had he gone? Neither of them had seen anyone or anything leaving the area, even through the heavy snowfall. They had eyes like hawks, nothing could have escaped them! Impossible!

"Looking for someone, boys?" a deep voice asked from behind them. It couldn't be Yugi, could it? He was supposed to be right there in front of them.

Ryan turned to regard his brother and he caught a single, whispered word.

'Magic.'

Shaking his head slowly, so as not to alarm whoever was behind them, he whispered back, "Star Trek."

A mirthful chuckle came from behind them and they turned around slowly, not knowing what to expect…

…and gasped in surprise. It was Yugi, but he was different. The lines of his face were more mature, and his eyes were different. They were the same colour… just different. Ryan couldn't figure out a better way to describe it. Bryan thought his brother had nailed it on the head with his Star Trek comment. Things like this only happened in outer space, not here on Earth. Wow.

"Yu…Yugi?" Ryan whispered, his voice full of awe.

"Who were you expecting?" Yami replied, nonchalantly tossing a snowball from one hand to another. He thanked Yugi once more through their mind link for letting him take over, even though wearing a hat on his head was going to take some getting used to. In Egypt, he'd never had to…

'_Stay focussed. They won't stay shocked for long. Be ready for them. And remember, Ryan always throws a curve to the left. And most important of all, have fun,' Yugi replied. It was about time for the Pharaoh to have some fun on his own instead of living vicariously through Yugi. A chance to blow off some steam and let loose for a little while._

"What… how… when…" Bryan couldn't form a complete sentence right now to save his life.

Ryan rubbed his eyes in disbelief. Weird. A look over at his brother and he saw that he was just as wide-eyed and slack-jacked as he had been. They couldn't let their wonder take over here. They had a battle to win. A quick jab to the ribs got his brother back to Earth and reminded him of the mission at hand.

"There are more things on this Earth than you can realize in a single lifetime," Yami said, his voice both cryptic and wistful. "But I believe that now is the time to do battle. Come, in the time-honoured tradition, let us face each other in combat and find who is the stronger." Ducking behind the tree, Yami just missed being hit by a snowball let loose from Bryan's hand. Chuckling to himself, he couldn't help but feel incredible joy at this moment. Finally, a battle where the fate of the world did not depend upon the outcome, upon the turn of a single card. A quick lob around the opposite side of the tree and a squeak of surprise let him know that he'd hit his target. So far, he was one for one in a two on one situation. Bending over, he quickly made a small pile of snowballs and gathered them into his arm, sighing at his forgetfulness to grab the ones that Yugi had made before he'd made his silent dash to the tree before the twins came too close. The light from the living room windows and the darkness of his coat as he crept along the wall, where there was no snow, had kept him hidden from their sight, no matter what they would recount later to wide-eyed youths in their classroom.

"You're so gonna get it, Yugi!" Ryan yelled, letting another snowball fly. It harmlessly hit the tree trunk near the Pharaoh's head and a piece of snow nicked his neck. That was too close. Time to lead them on a chase around the neighbourhood. With Yugi's knowledge of the area like the back of his hand and Yami's prowess in battle, there was no way they could lose** this** game to those young boys. For starters, Yami did something they didn't expect.

Ryan had just made another snowball ready to hurl at Yugi to draw him out when, out of nowhere, a shot beneath his line of sight met his chest. He stumbled backward a step and as he looked around for the culprit, a squeal from beside him let him know that Bryan had been hit by another sneak attack.

Getting up from his kneeling position, Yami took off at a run across the twins' property, towards Drake's house Yugi informed him mentally. He needed to stay one step ahead of those two rascals. Those two couldn't be allowed an opportunity to gang up on him and take him down.

"Don't just stand there, Ryan!" Bryan said exasperatedly, watching the retreating figure of their target disappear in the snow and dark. "We have to go get him!"

"Right! We're gonna cream him. He can't pull a trick like that on us and not pay for it. Let's go, bro!" Ryan took off at a run, following what he thought was the path Yugi had taken. Little did he know that he had been led astray and was about to be attacked once more…

For a 5,000-year-old Spirit, Yami picked up pretty quickly on how to make a decent snowball and stay ahead of the competition.

* * *

OOOOOOOOOOOOO, now that we know what's happened with everyone else, I wonder what's going to happen between our last foursome of Seto, Téa, Drake and Harvey. I can tell you this much – Seto is a right scary bastard when he's jealous… 

That's the end of the second chapter of Snow Wars. Like I said before there is a third one on its way. Just need to have my friend read it over before I post it. Should be up by the end of this week.

Hope this was a quick enough update for all of you.

Aphrael21 ;)


	8. Snow Wars Part 3

**Snow Wars – Part III**

Wow, a third snowball fight chapter and a fourth one is on its way! The next one should see the end of all of the snowy goodness that's taking place outside right now. Pretty soon, it will be time to head back indoors for some more craziness and chocolate cheesecake. Just sit back and enjoy the fun.

Sorry that this chapter is sooooo long. I had to cut it in half. The word count was approaching 11,000 if I'd left it as one chapter!

This chapter begins where the last one left off… starting with our favourite couple and how they both deal with Drake and Harvey. It also moves into what's happening with the other groups during their snowball fights. Mokuba and Megan have a huge role in this chapter…

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, Star Trek or Pepe le Pew from Looney Tunes. Just borrowing them for a little while.

On with the show…

* * *

Téa took a quick peak behind her, on the pretence of adjusting her hair, to keep Harvey in sight. Drake was slowly skulking closer and Seto wasn't far behind him. Seto would keep him occupied long enough for her to deal with Harvey. Or else she could let Harvey get closer and it could be an even two-on-two match up. Though, knowing those two boys as well as she did, they were probably going to try to ask her out again. And she'd smile politely once more and turn them down, revulsion filling her thoughts at just the idea of dating one of them. Seto Kaiba would not be impressed if they tried that. It might be worth it just to see the expression on his face. Decisions, decisions. She smiled to herself and pulled up the hood on her coat, making her all but invisible in the current snowy conditions, before she moved swiftly and silently to a new location from which to espy the goings on between her boyfriend and the wannabes. No one saw her change her position. Not even Drake, who had been so proud of his skills in finding her in the first place. 

No, he didn't have time to watch her move since Seto Kaiba, CEO of KaibaCorp, ice god and very jealous boyfriend all rolled into one, decided at that exact moment to intercept the potential suitor. It wasn't a polite interception either. One would not call a snowball to the middle of the back 'polite'. Seto called it payback for the ogling.

"What was that for?" Drake asked sharply, as he turned to stare at the taller teenager in the trench coat, anger in his eyes. How **dare** he interrupt him at this oh-so important moment! Téa was mere feet away from him, the object of his long-awaited desire, and she was going to say 'Yes' to him. He knew it beyond a shadow of a doubt. This was the year she was finally going to say 'Yes' to him and no jumped-up excuse for a high school student was going to change that. The smirk on Seto's mouth said otherwise. An involuntary shudder raced up Drake's spine as those ice-cold eyes fixed him in a deadly glower.

"**That** was a polite warning. If you **ever** look at Téa like that again, I'll make sure you rue the day your father first kissed your mother!" Seto watched Drake's lips tighten into a thin line. That had gotten his attention all right. Seto fully admitted to himself that he was the jealous type and he understood that guys would always be guys and look at Téa appreciatively. She was, after all, a gorgeous, sexy girl. **His **gorgeous, sexy girl. But when they looked at her as if she were nothing more than a piece of meat, **that** was what really got him angry. And that was the exact look that Drake had had in his eyes when he'd given her the once over at the bottom of the driveway.

Drake took aim and threw a snowball at Seto that was decidedly breaking the 'no head shot' rule that had been agreed upon by all participants earlier in the evening. That was another reason to take this pup's ego down a notch or two. Such disrespect from the younger generation. What were they teaching them in school these days? Seto stepped smoothly out of the way of the incoming snowball as it whizzed by his ear, his eyes never leaving his opponent's. It was time to teach him a lesson.

"Whatever. Who do you think you are telling me what to do anyways? You're not the boss of me!" Drake just about kicked himself as the lame line left his lips. The older teenager's smirk grew wider and a dark chuckle was carried on the wind to his ears.

"I'm not threatening you. I'm just offering you a piece of _friendly…_ advice. You still haven't figured out who I am yet, have you. Humph. And here I thought you were a smart kid. Guess I was seriously mistaken." Seto's voice retained its confident, arrogant composure even as his bare hand held the slowly melting snowball behind his back, ready to deliver it without a second's hesitation. Each word was enunciated for the greatest edge possible and said in the most sarcastic tone he could manage. This was the voice that usually drove Wheeler nuts.

Another 'badly' aimed snowball was gracefully dodged and Seto could almost see the steam escaping from Drake's ears. He silently regarded the boy who stood eight feet away from him, letting him sweat in the cold ice of his glare. Obviously, he didn't realize that Seto had another snowball behind his back while he had nothing in hand to defend himself with. Everything was going exactly as planned. The only thing he didn't know was where Téa had stashed herself. He knew she was nearby, could almost feel her presence right next to him even though he couldn't physically see her. Hopefully, she was enjoying the show. Seto knew he was having fun with this. Poor Drake.

"I think you'd better watch who you're talking to, buddy." This guy had to have some preternatural sixth sense or something. Drake never missed anything he aimed at. That's why he was the star of the Domino City baseball team. He was the best pitcher they'd ever had. "I am Drake Macintosh, son of Drogen Macintosh. I'm assuming you know who he is, right?"

Drake didn't miss the calculated gleam in his adversary's eyes. What was his name again? Kiba, Kaba? It was on the tip of his tongue. _Kaiba_, that's it. As in…

"Oh, I know who he is. The owner of the **second** largest gaming corporation in the country. And second place is where Drogen is going to stay, if I have anything to say about it." Inside, he was scoffing in disbelief. **THIS** was Macintosh's brat. Drogen Macintosh was one of the few people he respected as his competition in the gaming industry. The man was fair and honest to a fault. Too bad that Drake didn't seem to take more after him. He needed some lessons at his father's knee about how to respect others, especially women. Maybe over the knee would be a better place for this upstart. Seto watched his eyes grow wide in comprehension, as he finally understood that...

… **Seto** Kaiba was the one standing in front of him. Seto Kaiba, CEO of KaibaCorp., the largest gaming company in the entire world, let alone just this country. Drake still couldn't believe it. It had to be a lie. But now that he thought about it, he did look familiar. Very familiar. Drake tilted his head to the side and suddenly disbelief was no longer an option. It had to be him. He looked just like the picture his father had mounted on the wall of his office. Drogen regarded Kaiba as honourable competition. The two of them had shared many a business and luncheon meeting over the past couple of years. His old man was going to kill him if he ever found out about the way he'd mouthed off to this … this… kid.

Téa watched the exchange with interest. Drake was in trouble now, the womanizing fool. Maybe this would stop him from pestering Julie, too. She smiled lopsidedly to herself, butterflies flittering through her stomach, as she watched Seto advance on her next-door neighbour. But she had to admit, he was kinda hot when he was intimidating Drake into nothingness.

The colour drained from his face and he stumbled as he took another step backwards. It seemed that Seto's reputation preceded him. "You're **Kaiba**…" Drake couldn't even finish the sentence. He was in way over his head. He should have known who he was the second he'd said his name but he'd been too busy eyeing Téa to hear him. And he didn't have any snowballs at the ready to distract him while he ran in the other direction.

"Very good. Quick on the uptake. I'm Seto Kaiba to be exact. I take it you **have** heard of me?" Seto's stare bore down on the darker haired boy and he saw the sharp spike of fear in his features. The frosty fire in his eyes should have been a warning to Drake to start running. Seto Kaiba did not take prisoners under normal circumstances. His business was a cutthroat industry and he liked the edge it gave him. No, he most definitely did not take prisoners, especially during a snowball fight. It was shooter or target all the way. And Drake was painted in red and white circles.

The sharp snap of a twig nearby dragged her attention away from the two guys in front of her to the third one that was just entering earshot range. She silently moved a little closer as she noticed that Harvey had spotted the duo having their little 'conversation'. No doubt, he would join Drake's side of the argument and try to put Seto into a disadvantaged position. That wouldn't happen while she was around. She'd just wait a minute or two longer. A jealous Kaiba was fun to watch in action. Maybe those two would get the hint to back off and leave her alone as well. She hated having to say no to them all the time.

* * *

Megan turned her head around once, blonde curls streaming behind her, to regard the young man that was chasing her. The grin she was sporting grew wider yet when she saw how close he was to her. Almost time to turn the tables on him and get what she wanted. A sudden wall sprang up in front of her and the air whooshed out of her lungs as she landed, bottom first, on the snow-covered ground. 

"Megan! Are you okay? What happened?" Mokuba hollered as he watched her tumble down. Redoubling his efforts, he got there just as the wall she'd run into turned around to see who had knocked into him.

"Sorry, Megan, are you okay?" Bryan asked just as Mokuba came running up to join the duo. The two boys glanced at each other before they both thrust a hand out to help the girl up.

"I'm okay," she replied as she grabbed both hands and eased herself up from her snowy seat.

"What are you doing?" Mokuba asked, his eyes focussed on Megan as she dusted the snow from her clothing.

"We're tracking Yugi. Ryan and I lost him in here a few minutes ago. Want to help us find him?" Bryan asked, his voice barely above a whisper as he answered Mokuba. Apparently, he hadn't thought that the ruckus just seconds earlier hadn't alerted Yugi to his whereabouts.

"I don't know. Yugi's really good at games…" Mokuba hesitated. He really didn't want to get too involved in what appeared to be a private battle between the three boys. He'd seen the looks pass between all three of them when they'd met at the bottom of the driveway earlier. There was more there than met the eye. Some kind of a score to settle. And Mokuba had been having a lot of fun chasing Megan…

"Well, we can at least help the twins flush him out…" Megan started as she swung her gaze to Mokuba, who still unknowingly held her hand in his. Her devastating blue eyes unleashed a swarm of butterflies in his stomach even as he turned his gaze to the snowy carpet at his feet. "C'mon, Mokuba, it'll be fun."

One more peek at her flushed cheeks and parted lips made his decision for him. "Sure, you're right, Megan. It will be fun. He's almost our size, too."

He was so cute when he was being agreeable that she almost impulsively kissed him on the cheek. In fact, the only thing that stopped her was Bryan's hiss, meant to quiet them down.

Using quick hand signals, Bryan headed further off to the left, presumably to see if Ryan had found anything yet, leaving Mokuba and Megan, still hand-in-hand, to cover the territory to the right, closer to the street. Glancing at his partner, Mokuba shrugged his shoulders and started to quietly stalk through the trees, trying to be as quiet as possible. Megan moved just as quickly and silently, reluctant to relinquish her hold on Mokuba's really warm hand.

Yami stared down from his perch in the tree right above them and sighed wistfully. Mokuba had, judging by all outward signs, fallen hard for Megan. He was listening to her and doing everything she wanted. A definite sign that he liked her. At least, vice versa was true as well, if the handholding was any indication.

Chuckling softly to himself, he let his violet eyes roam away from the happy twosome under the tree as they headed out in search of him. His quarrel was not with them. Listening intently to the night, he heard a soft scrape of boots on snow and knew that his prey was close by. Which twin it was, he wasn't sure, but it didn't really matter since they were both going down. And with the two of them separated…

'_It'll be a lot easier to pick them off,' Yugi finished the thought happily. It had been his idea to hide up in the tree to escape detection for the moment. And he'd congratulated Yami on the silence with which the task had been accomplished._

'_Very true, aibou. Divided, they will fall before the hail of my balls of snow.' Yami's clenched fist pumped enthusiastically into the air and the gesture almost unbalanced his precarious position on the limb._

'_Yami, concentrate. We can't win the snowball fight if we fall on our faces out of this tree. The twins would be all over us in seconds,' Yugi giggled as Yami regained his footing on the branch beneath his feet._

"Let the hunt begin," Yami whispered softly and leapt lightly to the ground. Stopping in his tracks, he listened carefully for any sounds in the nearby brush that would lead him closer to his 'enemy'.

* * *

"Hey, Drake, what's going on with the beanpole? Why aren't you pelting him with snowballs til he cries like a little baby?" Harvey threw a condescending glare at Kaiba, apparently not remembering who he was. Little did he know that he was in serious danger now. Reaching down to grab a handful of snow to launch at the 'beanpole', he was stopped mid-bend by a snowball that came within a hairsbreadth of hitting his more 'sensitive' areas. The sound of the impact echoed around them and a sharp squeak of pain, quickly suppressed, followed right after. 

Seto was already forming another snowball as Harvey stared up at him, his eyes wide with anger and fury. "Better be careful who you call a beanpole, pretty boy. Next time, my aim may not be quite so… off the mark." The smooth, whisky voice again had the desired effect of making Harvey really pay attention to whom he was talking. Looking over at Drake, Harvey realized quickly the danger he was in. Anyone who could make Drake that afraid had to be someone important and now that Harvey thought about it, the name Kaiba was familiar. Something to do with cards, and duelling, and Blue Eyes White Dra…

Damn. It had to be him that Téa brought over here. It couldn't just be any other high school student. No, it had to be the most important guy that went to Domino High. A guy worth billions. Well, that wasn't going to stop him tonight. There was a girl out there that was going to say 'Yes' to him and no one was going to get in his way.

Nevertheless, if he could pull Drake out of his trance, it would still be two against one. The odds would be more in their favour, even if he were a famous CEO big shot. They could take him on. It would be easy as pie. A quick poke to Drake's ribs brought him, trembling, out of his little moment of fear.

"C'mon Drake, snap out of it. It's two on one. We can take him on, even if he is Seto Kaiba, super-bigshot-smartypants!" Harvey's voice took on a bit of pleading note as he shook Drake's arm. That finished what the poke started. The life came back to his eyes and a wicked grin smeared across his mouth.

"You're right, Harvey. We can take him on. Poor bastard only has himself to rely on for his defence. Let's do it!" Drake turned towards Kaiba and noticed there was no singular look in his eye except amusement. Almost as if, he was _daring_ them to go with through with their little plot. They hadn't seen what he had, however.

A whitish grey-coated figure was moving slowly towards him, trapping the two unknowing teenagers between them. Perfect. He couldn't have planned this better himself. She **must** be psychic. That smile on her face, her beautiful face, tingled across his skin from the top of his head to the tips of his toes.

So much for using Seto for target practice. She'd rather help him out and kick some teenage butt anyways. This was going to be a lot of fun. Almost as much fun as the last time she'd kicked their butts in a snowball fight. And Seto was getting excessively serious about this whole thing. A reminder that this was just a snowball fight, not some big corporate takeover, was needed. He really needed to lighten up a bit and have some fun for a change. She could always get him later. Pushing back the hood of her coat, she cleared her throat once to get everyone's attention.

"Hi, how's the battle going?" Her cheery voice was in sharp contrast to Seto's icy tone and Drake and Harvey were honestly confused as to how she'd gotten there. Why she was behind them, and smiling, was another mystery as well. What they didn't think to question was why her hands were behind her back.

"We were just having a little chat with your friend, Kaiba, over here." Drake's smile looked oily to her as he jerked his thumb in Kaiba's direction. He still didn't understand why **he** was so happy either but now was his chance to show off in front of Téa what a great guy he was. Surely, that would make her want to date him… What girl didn't like a show of male prowess? Men were the dominant species after all. The girls at school were always impressed with his skills. "Care to join us in combat against him?"

Harvey, judging by the knowing look in his eyes, saw the larger picture coalesce before him as Téa stepped nonchalantly closer to Kaiba. A couple more snowballs were quickly made as Seto took advantage of the distraction she provided for him. Those two yahoos were in for the surprise of their lives in about a minute.

"I don't think so. I should leave those kinds of things to you guys. After all, you're **so** much stronger and more capable than little old me." That tone of voice should be illegal, Seto thought to himself. It was too smooth and sarcastic for those that could discern those minor stress changes involved for true wit to happen. She was moving this along perfectly, he decided as she finally came to a stop next to him. Her sense of timing was flawless. Flicking her eyes in Harvey's direction, she saw that he was slowly backing off and getting far away from the fray that was seconds from starting. So much for Drake's back up. She'd deal with him in a minute or two. For now, she had to concentrate on the attack and get ready to cover Seto, should he need it. Drake would never shoot at her deliberately. It would ruin his chances of asking her out again. That was the only positive thing she could see in that idea, anyways.

A quick look passed between her and Seto, one filled with innuendo, promised heat and a determination to wipe the smirk right from the insolent young pup's face. A single half nod set everything in motion.

As Téa turned back towards Drake, her hands came smoothly from behind her back and whipped the two snowballs she was holding right at the target's chest. Bull's-eye! Staggering back from the double blow, he was hit with another round as Seto loosed the ones he'd made earlier, giving Téa a chance to 'reload'.

Needless to say, Drake went sprawling on his backside in the snow from the force of the blows.

What had he ever done to deserve this? He'd been played! But he should have expected it since Téa had brought Mr. CEO over as one of her friends. Why oh why had he believed her when she'd said that she'd leave the combat up to the boys? Damn. Outsmarted by a girl once more. Drake hadn't even gotten a chance to ask her out yet. Not that he really wanted to, right now, with the tall, evil-looking guy standing behind her watching him with his glacial eyes.

"I honestly thought he had more fight in him than that, Kaiba. Went down without throwing a single shot. Too bad. He's usually got such good aim." Téa turned back towards Seto and smiled winningly at him before she continued. "There is one more target out there. Want to go get him, too or is your male jealousy satisfied with getting just this one?"

"What male jealousy are you talking about?" He didn't want to let her know the whole gamut of emotions that had rolled through him when he'd encountered Drake out here. One arched eyebrow and her folded arms let him know that she knew everything. Damn, he was so busted. "Téa, it wasn't jealousy… it was… was…"

"What? Some primitive, male urge to mark me as yours? Seto, I thought the jealousy act was hot, but if you're saying that wasn't it…" Her silky tone taunted him softly and the humour in her eyes made his cheeks red once more. The things she could do to him with just her voice, let alone her hands and fingers, had him breathing hard.

"You thought that was hot? You should see me when I'm **really** annoyed…" His little chuckle made her groan once and roll her eyes at him.

"Set-off-the-fire-detectors-hot, I bet," she countered, turning away from Drake's sprawled form on the ground and moving closer to Seto once more. "How about we do a little more target practice? I still have too much energy to burn."

"I could find a way for you to use that energy…" There went her knees. So much heat in just those few words made her feel like melting into a puddle of goo at his feet.

"Mmm, is that a threat or a promise?" She had to get her breathing under control. Her arm entwined itself through his and they stepped further away yet from the still stunned and sprawled teenaged boy.

* * *

"I'll get you this time!" Mokuba shouted at the blonde-haired girl in front of him. The wind carried her merry laughter to him and he sped up once more in the hopes of trying to catch her and reclaim what rightfully belonged to him. Turning back once, she waved the blue mitten she held, her prize, teasingly at the younger Kaiba. 

_Flashback – minutes ago…_

_They'd tried to search for Yugi, they really had, but it was hopeless. The snowfall was too thick and the night too deep to see anything besides each other. And it was in these moments that Mokuba realized he was still holding Megan's hand from when he helped her up. But the worst part of that was that she wasn't letting go of his hand so easily._

"_Megan, let go," he asked, his voice almost pleading with her. He tried to tug his hand out of her grasp but succeeded only in making her hold on tighter. Her million-watt smile had turned towards him then and he gulped at the mischief he saw in her eyes. Was that what he looked like when he was up to no good? No wonder Seto always knew when he was up to something._

"_Not until you say the magic word," she teased. She watched his violet-grey eyes grow bigger and the tugs on his hand grew a little more panicked. If only he knew what she was planning, he'd know better than to do this right now. He'd be running as far and fast away from her as he could. _

"_Magic word? Okay, please?" Hopefully, she would relinquish control and give him back his personal space. Having her so close to him was distracting. No wonder he'd been able to get the jump on Seto yesterday if this was how Téa made him feel. He pulled on his hand once more, to no avail. She just pulled back on it. _

"_No, that's not **my** magic word and besides, I like your hand right where it is. It's nice and warm, too," she replied, her fingers squeezing his hand once more and smiling at the bright red flush that added to his cheeks._

_Soon enough, though, Mokuba and Megan were caught up in a rousing game of tug-of-war. He would pull on his hand and she would pull back. It was highly amusing and entertaining to the two participants until that fateful moment occurred. The one inevitably destined to happen._

_The navy blue mitten that had once been snugly attached to the hand when first put on couldn't take the pressure anymore._

_It slipped off just as Mokuba gave a mighty tug to reclaim what had originally been his._

_Down Mokuba went, bottom first to the snow-covered ground, leaving Megan standing with the offending mitten still clenched between her own pink-mittened fingers. After a moment of silence, both of them had burst into unabashed laughter and the chase they were currently enjoying had ensued once Mokuba had stood up and dusted himself off._

_End flashback…_

Megan peeked behind her, the navy blue mitten still trapped in her hand, taunting him to come and take it away from her, if he could. How easy it was to get boys to do things. All it took was a smile, a wink or a challenge and they were all over it. Now that she thought about it, her mother used the same tricks with her father. A little wink was enough to send him scurrying to get the garbage taken out. A bright smile and he would do the dishes without complaint. And Mom would challenge Dad to beat her in a race to shovel the driveway. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Boys wouldn't do anything if there weren't a reward behind it either. Mom and Dad used to disappear for a while after Dad was done whatever chore Mom had set him to do. Hmm… she'd have to ponder that idea some more.

She was good, Mokuba had to admit that. Even Seto would have been caught by now, although he suspected his older brother let him win on purpose. The challenge Megan presented intrigued him. No other girl had ever fascinated him like this or gotten him to do what she wanted, either. His breath was coming out in ragged gasps as he put on one more burst of speed to try to catch up to her. She was good, but he would prove he was better.

Megan slowed down just a bit. Just enough to let Mokuba get a little closer. A glance behind showed that he was almost on top of her already. At least he had been, she frowned, til something stopped him dead in his tracks.

That was when she heard it, too.

A high, shrill shriek that was abruptly cut off.

"Mokuba? What was that?" Megan whispered, trying hard to keep the edge of fear out of her voice as she walked back towards him.

"I don't know, Megan, but it came from over there," Mokuba replied, his index finger only shaking a little bit as he pointed towards an area off to their left. Doing some mental picturing, Megan realized that they were by Drake's house. She frowned as she thought about who could be over there. There was no one else it could be since they'd just run in to the twins as they searched for Yugi and Drake and Harvey were looking for Téa unless…

The shrill shriek came once more but this time it was followed by something that sounded suspiciously like laughter. A girl's laughter. That had to be it. It had to be Julie and those two guys she'd been eyeing at the end of the driveway. Téa's two guy friends, Joey and Trist…

She didn't even get a chance to finish that thought as Mokuba dashed in that general direction, mumbling something about finding out what was going on. Sighing softly and musing over the quick-spiritedness of the male gender, she made after him. It only took a minute or two to arrive in the general vicinity and once they'd made it out of the tree cover, they gasped at what lay before them.

The ground between Drake's house and the twins' had become a battlefield. Snowballs were flying in every direction and there seemed to be three different angles they were flying from. The laughter came once more just as Megan dodged a misdirected snowball and Mokuba threw himself to the ground to avoid another one.

"Give it up, Joey. We're never gonna get to her. She's too well covered by that fence in front of her." Tristan was almost tired of trying to talk some sense into that blonde-headed brain Joey possessed. He'd been trying for almost ten minutes to get him to agree to a final rush on her position.

"No way, Tris. She tried to take us down, 'member? Dis is what you get when you mess wit' a Wheeler," Joey stated emphatically, his voice somehow managing to be both comical and serious.

"But Joey, I'm just a defenceless girl. You really don't want to get me that badly, do you?" Julie's voice, on the other hand, oozed charm and smoothness, making Tristan eye her sideways across the yard. She really was laying it on thick and he was pretty sure that Joey would be relentless anyways. Once Joey got an idea in his head, it was hard to tug it away from him, much like a dog with a chew toy. Snickering at his own thoughts, Tristan wondered if he'd have a shot at her phone number if he joined forces with her against his blonde-headed friend and they creamed him together.

"Uh unh, dere's no way I'm believing you after dat shot I took in de butt. Dat really hurt. You are most definitely not defenceless. You're goin' down, Jules!" Joey shouted, a vain attempt at maniacal laughter following. Another snowball smacked into the fence near her arm and she retreated into the safety of her makeshift shelter. Joey hadn't had this much fun in a long time. Julie was proving to be a worthy adver… advers… ah, heck enemy. Not as good as Téa, she was a lot sneakier, but way better than Tristan ever was.

"They've got Julie trapped near Drake's backyard," Megan exclaimed softly to Mokuba as she eyed the situation from behind a tree.

"That's not a very nice thing to do. Maybe… maybe **we** should help her," Mokuba turned to Megan and gave her his own version of a million watt grin. Her eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat. Two could play her game, Mokuba thought before different plans to rescue Julie filtered through his mind. Unfortunately, most of them wouldn't work since he didn't have an ultra-mega-semi-automatic-snowball-rifle-cannon in his back pocket.

The night should have been blown away by the brightness of the thought that just flashed through his brain. It was so easy and so awesome that he could have kicked himself for not thinking of it earlier. THIS should have been the first plan he'd thought of. And he didn't need any snowball rifle cannons to make it work, either. Turning once more to Megan, his newest about-to-be-partner-in-crime, he grinned. It was no ordinary grin, not by any stretch of the imagination. "I have an idea."

Much whispering took place in the next couple of minutes and her grin matched his in intensity and mischief once it was done. It was perfect. Those two would never know what hit them. They shook hands, an electric tingle racing through both of them at the slight contact, to seal the deal and moved off in separate directions.

Mokuba stepped out of his hiding spot, took a deep breath, and made as much noise as he could as he walked towards Joey and Tristan. His job, his only job, was to distract those two long enough for Megan to do her part of the plan. That's when everything would be turned upside down and Joey and Tristan would be running for their lives.

"Hi Joey, Tristan. What's going on?" Mokuba asked, innocence beaming from his face like a small sun. Those two would never suspect him of being a turncoat to their gender. But when a girl as cute as Megan was involved, Mokuba was willing to do anything to make her smile at him. This liking girls business was getting better and better. Maybe Seto was on the right track after all.

"Hey, Mokuba. What's goin' on you ask? Well, we got Julie pinned behind dat fence dere and we're jus' waitin' for her t' realize dat we **are** superior t' her. She can't get away wit' what she did to us earlier." His voice carried far on the gentle wind still blowing snow around the yard and Julie winced at his words. Joey was a regular font of information.

"You shoulda seen the shot he took in the butt earlier, too. Man, talk about hurting your pride," Tristan chimed in, grinning at the younger Kaiba. Mokuba laughed at that, just picturing what Joey's face would look like. Seto would have loved to see that.

"How did you guys get into this to begin with?" Mokuba's job was easy. Joey would talk the ear off a goat, given half a chance. Well, his chance had arrived in the form of one, innocent seeming Mokuba Kaiba. Now Megan just had to pull off her part.

"PSSSSSST, Julie!" Megan whispered as loudly as she dared. The older blonde looked over to where the sound had come from. The only thing she could see was a pink-mittened hand waving at her from the side of the house…

"Megan? What are you doing here? It's not that safe with those two guys out there pitching snowballs at me," Julie said, her voice laced with wryness. It was her mess and she had yet to figure a way out of it.

"I've come to get you out. Mokuba's out there distracting those two boys that were throwing snowballs at you. Hurry up and follow me," Megan replied, her mittened hand urging her friend to join her. There was only one problem. The spot between the fence Julie was hiding behind and where Megan was frantically waving at her was open turf, nothing to protect her should anyone spot her moving from her shelter towards freedom.

Taking a deep breath and putting all of her trust into that one black-haired, young boy, Julie crept forward slowly and prayed that neither Joey nor Tristan spotted her. She was dead meat if they caught her out in the open. No mercy or quarter given. She'd given them a run for their money earlier but now she was the one paying the piper. Geez, what was with all those sayings? Shaking her head, she moved another foot forward and froze as she heard laughter echoing around her. Sighing softly, she realized that no one had seen her yet. It had been Mokuba laughing at something that one of them said. She couldn't hear what they were saying and wouldn't want to anyways. It would just be a distraction from her current mission. Looking towards the edge of Drake's house, she saw a pink blur still waving her on. She'd already covered half the distance and nothing had gone wrong yet.

With one more deep breath, she stood a little higher and made a run for it. The snowfall and the darkness covered her get away enough that they didn't see the flash of pink from her coat. Well, no one except Mokuba who was facing the backyard. Both Joey and Tristan were very animatedly telling him about their flight from Julie to how the tables had been turned over here. And he was having to put on an interested face to keep them talking as he waited for Megan's signal.

There it was! Megan was waving his navy blue mitten in a frantic attempt to get his attention. Now for the return signal. Mokuba's mitten-less hand stretched up, straight up, into the air before reaching down to scratch the back of his head. Not the most subtle of signals but Joey and Tristan paid no attention to it as they continued on with their tale.

Julie and Megan rushed behind Drake's house and climbed back over the low fence that Megan had originally climbed to get to her. Why hadn't she thought of this before? Such an easy way out. But then again, when faced with a maelstrom of snowballs coming from every direction, it was very hard to think about escape. Now that she was free and Megan had outlined her and Mokuba's plan, she grinned. Those two would really learn that she **really** wasn't a defenceless girl.

Peeking around the side of the house, she saw that Mokuba was still distracting those two. Perfect. The two girls worked quickly to create an armload of ammunition before they snuck back into the trees lining Drake's yard. They'd never expect an attack from 'behind'. They thought she was pinned down and helpless. There was no way that she was going to proclaim that boys were superior to girls. Granted, she'd had to rely on a boy for assistance, but he was young so he really didn't count. And he was Megan's new friend.

Mokuba's eyes gleamed mischievously as he watched the two girls make their way, slowly and quietly, to the trees behind the three of them. It had been so easy to distract Joey and Tristan from their previous mission of pounding Julie with snowballs. All it had taken were a few questions regarding how they had originally gotten into this position. Nonchalantly, he reached down, picked up a couple handfuls of snow, and began to idly form it into snowballs. It was a good idea to be prepared for when the girls started firing.

Tristan's eyebrow quirked up at the look he saw in Mokuba's eyes. It reminded him of something, or more accurately, someone. In fact, he looked a lot like his older brother when he was just about to pull a winning strategy against Joey at Duel Monsters. Something about that look sent a spine-tingling quiver through him. A quick look at Joey and he was reasonably sure that **he** hadn't picked up any weird vibes from Mokuba.

As he turned for one last, confused look at the younger Kaiba, the world went white.

Mokuba, with the agility of a cat, leapt out of the way of the incoming snowballs and hurled his own at the two boys standing there. Everything had gone perfectly, he thought, as he watched the impact of several snowballs explode across Joey's legs. The force knocked him over onto his back and left Tristan as the single, standing target.

"Why, Mokuba, why?" Joey muttered, finally cluing in that he had been a traitor, sent amongst them to obfuscate Julie's escape.

"Joey, do you even have to ask?" Tristan replied. Two girls had appeared in his line of sight, what little of it he had under the storm of snowballs, and the shorter one kept winking at Mokuba. So **that** was why he had gone and done this. All because of a girl. He staggered back a step as a vicious duo of snowballs detonated across his thighs. Falling to his knees, arms stretched above his head and head hanging to his chest, he shouted, "Stop, we surrender!" At least Mokuba had had a good reason to do this to the two of them. All was fair in love and war.

"Was there ever any doubt of that? Who's superior now, Joey?" Julie smirked as she walked up and stood over the blonde-haired boy still sprawled on the ground. Joey could only groan. He still couldn't believe that Julie had somehow managed to outsmart him and Tristan.

Megan walked over to Mokuba, who was still on the sidelines of the battleground, and smiled winningly. "You were great."

"You weren't so bad yourself," Mokuba replied, his cheeks flushing from praise. She was so pretty when she smiled like that at him. Betraying the boys had been worth it just to see her eyes shine like that. Maybe having a girlfriend wouldn't be such a bad thing. He'd been harping on Seto for months to get one. And if having one meant that he walked on air everyday, then it was a really good thing.

No way, Joey thought, there was no way that he was going down without a fight. Tristan may have surrendered but he wasn't ready to admit defeat yet. And the smile that Julie had on her face right now, she peered down at him, hardened his resolve. In fact, she was so busy congratulating herself that she didn't notice his hands tighten around clumps of snow.

The first shot Joey sent at her hit her in the shoulder. The second one, that was the kicker. He hadn't been able to aim it very well and he had just prayed that it hit her instead of spiralling uselessly beyond her.

It hit her, all right.

Right smack dab in the middle of her chest.

Her CHEST.

Joey blanched at the look of death in her eyes before he scrambled to his feet as fast as humanly possible. Running for his life, he grabbed Tristan's still outstretched arm and yanked him to his feet. Poor Tristan hadn't even fully comprehended what had just occurred when he heard Julie hollering behind them, her words incoherent for the first time.

"Joey, what the hell did you just do to her?" Tristan asked between pants as he tried to catch up to his best friend.

"Sneak attack… hit her… in the chest…" was all Joey could relay between gasps for breath.

Oh, man. Joey had just committed the worst mistake possible during a snowball fight with a girl. One never, ever aimed for **that** area of the female body. Instant death by snowballs. And Joey had just dragged Tristan into the middle of it. Maybe he should gang up on him with Julie. Maybe she wouldn't hold him accountable for Joey's actions…

Mokuba and Megan watched Julie chase after the two boys and shared a chuckle. Those two were so dead.

"Thanks for not hitting me with a snowball," Mokuba said, more to break the silence of the night around them as their laughter died and even the echoes faded away.

"Of course I wouldn't hit you with a snowball. You were the mastermind behind the whole plot to free Julie from behind that fence. What kind of a repayment would that be?" Megan replied, her eyes twinkling impishly. This was the perfect opening. Now she could remind him of what he really did owe her. "Although **you** tried to hit me with a snowball earlier, remember?"

Mokuba was taken aback. When had he done that? Thinking back to the beginning of the night, he groaned as that particular memory surfaced. "But that was because you gave me a snow wash!"

"Remember what I said after that?" Megan's voice was smooth and charming, much like Seto's voice when he'd just trumped the other player at Duel Monsters.

"Uh, 'missed me, missed me, now ya gotta KISS… me'…" Mokuba said, his eyes widening as he realized the implications of that statement. He gulped.

"Yup, and I think I want my kiss now…" Megan smiled as Mokuba backed slowly away from her before running in the general direction that Joey and Tristan had just taken. No way, he wasn't ready for that yet. Just because he liked her didn't mean that he really wanted to kiss her…

Megan skipped along behind him, much like Pepe le Pew, determined to get her prize before the snowball fight was finished.

* * *

Whew, it's almost done. Hope you had as much fun reading it as I did writing it. 

The last part of the snowball fight should be up in a couple of days. Just have to finish the ending.

Thanks for all of the great reviews. Cheers to all who review!

Aphrael21;)


	9. The Final Battle

**Snow Wars – Part IV**

**Forgot to mention before:** The previous chapter and parts of this onewere re-vamped and re-worked because of some suggestions made by LuvinAniManga. Thanks so much for your help. I'm begging you, LuvinAniManga, on bended knees and upraised arms to forgive me for not mentioning it last chapter…

Here. The final chapter of the snowball wars. It's done and finished. The ending is good. Poor Joey. Poor Mokuba.

Again, hope you laughed a little as you read it. Or at least chuckled at the vain attempts at humour. WARNING: Fluffy moments ahead. Take all necessary precautions!

Disclaimer: Don't own it and probably never will. Sniff, poor ME!

Now remember, folks, when we last left our happy friends, Megan was chasing Mokuba. That point gets a lot more interesting in this chapter. Oh, and a rather annoyed Julie was chasing Joey and Tristan…

* * *

Ha! Harvey had the two of them believing that he'd left in fear. Instead, he was going to pull Téa's own stunt back on her. Seto Kaiba was not going to stand in his way of asking Téa out! He hadn't been able to hear the conversation between those two but judging by the smirks they both sported, they had probably been making fun of Drake. Peaking out from behind a tree a few feet away, he waited until those two had moved further towards the centre of the cul-de-sac before heading towards his fallen comrade. 

"Drake! Listen to me, man. We gotta go get that Kaiba guy! I think he's putting his own moves on Téa. Are you going to let him muscle in on **our** territory? C'mon, man, get UP!" Harvey yanked on Drake's arm, breaking the boy's self-induced, trance-like state. He'd been dreaming about driving down the main street of Domino with Téa, looking gorgeous, hanging on his arm and every word he said. Why did Harvey have to wake him up?

"WH… what?" Drake finally understood the words being spoken to him. That snake Kaiba was going to pay for making Téa turn on him like that. Selective memory, such a blessing. The last snowball fight had totally slipped his mind for the moment. "All right, I'm up. I'm up. You can leave my shoulder in its socket now."

"Good, now stand up and let's go. I can't wait to nail him with a snowball. But we should leave Téa alone. I mean we hit her and our chances are so zero for her saying 'yes' to one of us asking her out." Harvey looked to Drake for agreement. Drake nodded his head. He'd deal with Harvey himself once Kaiba was on his ass in the snow, begging for mercy. That thought made him smile as he stood up and they created their ammunition from the abundant resources before them. His father would understand. It was **only** a snowball fight after all. Surely, there was nothing wrong with 'accidentally' hitting the CEO of his father's competition in the face with a snowball or three…

"Uh-oh, I think we have company coming to join us," Seto whispered softly as he let go of her arm and began to turn around. She sighed at the loss of him next to her and moved to see what he was talking about. Two shadowy forms drew closer to where they were and Téa huffed in frustration. Would those two never learn? She was **never, ever in a million years** going to go out on a date with either one of them. She thought the last snowball fight had taught them that lesson but they seemed to be gluttons for punishment.

"Are you ready?" she asked him, leaning over and scooping up her weapons.

"I'm always ready." That smirk made her laugh delightedly. How he could twist words.

"Time for an all-out frontal assault. You hit 'em high and I'll hit 'em low," she said. Her hands busily formed more snowballs in a huge pile in front of her. That hadn't been very smart of the two of them to be seen coming in. A sneak attack would have had more success.

"Aren't those the words to a song?"

"Meh, they're still appropriate." She frowned once as the breeze tossed a stray wisp of her hair across her lips. Tucking it behind her ear, she saw Seto entranced by the movement. So easy to distract him. Anything to do with her mouth seemed to fascinate him. She had plenty of first hand experience of that as well. A sudden burst of noise caught her attention. It seemed to be getting closer until…

… a full tilt, screaming match passed behind them by about seven feet and Téa could have sworn that she'd just heard Joey begging for his life through the guttural roars. Tristan, it seemed, wasn't too far behind him and a flash of pink made her start to giggle. Those two were in way over their heads. Julie wasn't one that gave up the chase easily.

"What was that?" Seto asked, peering at the dwindling figures as they faded from sight into the night.

"Nothing much, just Julie having some fun with the boys." Téa's mysterious reply had him cocking an eyebrow and wondering what interest Julie could possibly have in those two clowns.

"KAIBA!" Harvey's voice thundered across to them and they stopped in mid-tracks, wondering what the kid was going to say next. Boy, was he ever dense.

"Yes?" The urge to say something completely and utterly childish made him struggle for a moment before his calm, cold exterior re-surfaced. At least they couldn't see that. What could those two idiots want now? Hadn't he told them to back off? Hadn't they taken the hint that he wasn't too enamoured of their presence near his Téa, at least when they were ogling her so openly?

"It's payback time. You can't stop us from talking to Téa. She's our friend, too!" Drake wanted to slap Harvey upside the head. What a lame thing to say. Kaiba's smirk shone like a beacon all the way to where they were standing, gathering more snowballs.

"I never said you couldn't **talk** to her, pretty boy. **I** didn't like how you and your little friend were looking at her." Kaiba replied smoothly. They'd looked at her as if she'd been a piece of meat they wanted a taste of. They needed to learn to respect girls. And he was just the guy to show them how to do so. Bring it on.

Téa snorted with laughter just within Seto's earshot. Pretty boy. She was really going to have to remember that one for another time. That was the second time he'd used it and it seemed so fitting for Harvey. He always was preening himself in his locker mirror. Seto's eyes snuck a peak at her and the sight before him was amazing. There was just enough light from the street lamp to highlight the snowflakes as they hung in her hair like stars and her eyes were luminous, blue and beautiful. Her open mouth panted out clouds of steamy, white breath and he sincerely wished that his was on top of hers right now. Shaking his head once, he decided to save that idea til a little later on, like when he joined her in her room. She still had no idea about that one and he was planning to keep it that way.

"Whatever. You've earned yourself an avalanche of snowballs so get ready," Drake hollered. His blood was starting to heat up with the exertion of what they were doing and the excitement of actually getting involved in the fray this time before he was knocked over.

"Bring it on, punks," Téa replied, softly, before adding, "Seto, wouldn't it be easier to just tell them that we're going out and you're the jealous type? They are in for a world of hurt if they keep coming towards us."

"What and spoil my fun? I'm enjoying this. I haven't had this much fun talking down to moronic dorks since… since… Wheeler." The flat look she gave him could have ironed his shirt but it just made him chuckle. Teasing Wheeler was still his favourite thing to do when forced to be near him but this snowball fight was ranking a close second. Although there were other things that didn't involve **this** kind of teasing that he was starting to like a whole lot more…

* * *

"Ahh," Ryan hollered as he narrowly dodged yet another snowball aimed for him. How he did it, he never knew since the snowballs were being thrown from behind him. Thrown by someone who looked like Yugi but was a much harder shot. Being the King of Games must have given him an advantage somehow. Or else the whole Star Trek thing was still in play. How he'd disappeared from under the living room window was still a mystery. 

"Do you surrender?" Yami asked breathlessly from behind his adversary. The boy had never heard him come stalking through the trees after him. Then again, the boy had made enough noise that a herd of elephants could have come near him and he would never have known. The first snowball Yami had thrown had landed in the middle of his back and the chase had begun. They had yet to run into the second twin. When they did, for Yami harboured no illusions that they **hadn't** been heard, he was ready for them both. The hat that had been on his head, the one he'd been having trouble getting used to, was currently grasped between his fingers, stuffed to the gills with ready-made snowballs. His hair, however, was stuck up at odd angles, he was sure. There was no way it couldn't be from the punishment it had taken from being forced under the red hat.

"_Yami, it's just hair. Don't worry about it. It'll sort itself out. It always does. Just concentrate on using Ryan to flush out Bryan. Once you have both of them in sight, you can get them both and prove once and for all that we are superior to them in snowball fights," Yugi stated, only a little annoyed at the idea of messed up hair. But it was true, it always sorted itself out. _

"_Of course, aibou," Yami replied a little sheepishly. Why was he so concerned about his hair? It was just hair after all. Getting the twins was a more important task. "Using the hat to hold the snowballs had been a very good idea, Yugi."_

"_Thanks." The praise warmed him to his toes. "But we'll need to re-stock soon."_

"_We will cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, let the chase continue," Yami stated emphatically, pulling another snowball out of the hat and readying his aim. Poor Ryan._

Ryan chanced a peek behind him, hoping that he wouldn't stumble in the snow, and saw how close Yugi was to him. Whipping his head around, he ducked just in time as a branch he hadn't seen almost swiped across his face. Where was Bryan? He should have joined the chase by now. What was taking him so long? He'd done his part, now it was all up to his two-minutes-older brother.

'Just a little closer,' Bryan thought to himself, watching the two coming towards him. This had been the perfect plan. He'd figured out where Yugi was when a small clump of snow had fallen from the tree when he'd been talking to Mokuba and Megan. Asking them to find Yugi, knowing he was up in the tree listening to the whole thing, was a distraction while he went in search of his brother. A few more feet and their plan would come to fruition.

Ryan ran by his brother, unknowingly, but heard the commotion as he stepped out of hiding and threw a snowball at Yugi. Turning around, he was just in time to witness its splat across Yugi's knee. The older boy stopped in confusion as he stared at the twins before him.

"Gotcha that time, Yugi," Bryan stated smugly. Ryan took the opportunity and lobbed his own snowball in Yugi's direction. He ducked down, his crazy hair flying in all directions from the wind of its passing. Bryan gave Ryan a high-five, congratulating each other on the success of their plan.

Yami took the time to make another snowball or two and stash them in his carrying hat before standing back up again, grinning. "It has been a worthy battle and you are to be commended for your efforts. But this ends, now."

The flash of challenge in Yugi's violet eyes made them acutely aware of one thing.

Yugi was the only one with snowballs ready to go. They had nothing, absolutely nothing, to defend themselves with except for their legs. Which they put to good use as they started to run. They'd been so close to winning, too. At least they were smiling as they ran for their lives. This had been the best snowball fight ever, they thought as a snowball whizzed between them.

"No, Julie, no MORE," a strange voice screamed, right in front of Ryan and Bryan. Yami froze in mid-throw. That voice sounded suspiciously familiar. In fact, it sounded a lot like…

"Say it, Joey, just say it and the pain will stop…" a laughing, female voice taunted from a little further away.

"No way! Dere is no way dat I'm sayin' you're better 'n' me. We both know it's not… OUCH… not **another** shot there. Dat's no fair!" Joey exclaimed. Yami watched him come into view, stop and turn to stand his ground. He was white from the neck down, most of it concentrated on his back and, laughingly, bottom areas. Tristan came to a shuddering halt a few feet away from him, his sides heaving from the exertion of running away from Julie. Staying as far away from Joey as possible was all that had kept him from being covered in snow as well.

"Whatever, Joey. I got the jump on you…" Julie started to say as she halted a short distance away from the entire group. Ryan and Bryan stared at the newcomers, not knowing what the heck was going on. Yami only understood a little more than they did. He'd have to get the story from them later. It would certainly be interesting.

"De only reason you got de jump on me was Mokuba. HE staged your escape by distractin' us," Joey responded, ducking down for a couple of quick swipes of snow. Yami wondered how Mokuba had gotten involved in this whole affair. The last time he'd seen the younger Kaiba, he had been running off into the night with Megan.

"You should know why Mokuba did what he did, Joey," Tristan said. And it would have been fairly cute, too, if it had been some other 'unlucky' boys involved in the snowball fight.

"Oh, I **know** why he did it, Tris." Joey bounced his new snowballs in the palms of his hands, as he got ready to target Julie. None of the three had even noticed the other three boys surrounding them. "He did it because of Megan."

Now Yami and Yugi were thoroughly confused. Mokuba and Megan had helped to bring Joey to this point? How had this happened? His curiosity was going to get the better of him shortly if someone didn't explain anything soon.

A clearing of the throat behind them made Joey and Tristan turn around to see who else was there, possibly waiting to get them.

"Yugi? What're you doin' here?" Joey asked, surprised at his presence. He'd been so involved in getting away, or getting even with, Julie that he hadn't noticed him standing there, his hand holding onto a hat full of snowballs. Now, **that **was sheer brilliance. Too bad he hadn't thought of it earlier. It would have made snowing Julie a lot easier.

"Well, your arrival interrupted my battle with the twins. And now you are right in the middle of it…" Yami smiled his winning smile. He'd just trumped Joey. A look at the twins and an exaggerated wink in their direction sealed Joey's fate. His battle with the twins could wait until another day. For now, the three of them were about to get the jump on Joey, something they hadn't ever done because he was bigger, taller and faster. Tristan caught the look and smirked. Joey was in for it now, the poor guy. Maybe now he could get Julie's phone number.

"No, wait, Yugi. Can't we talk dis ova'? You can't do dis t' me. I'm yer best friend…" Joey started to say before realizing it was no use.

"All is fair in love and war, Joey. And this looks like war to me," Yami replied smoothly. Yugi gave a chuckle at Joey's predicament.

Julie stepped closer, eyeing Joey evenly. He was about to get his comeuppance. And she'd make sure to block any escape attempt on his part. This was what he got for messing with a girl. "Well, Joey, looks like you've gotten yourself into fine mess. C'mon, boys. Let's finish the job."

A slow ring formed around Joey, blocking any possible exits or escape routes, and he eyed those around him warily. He was in for it now and all because he refused to admit that Julie was better than he was. If only he'd surrendered earlier… Well, if he was going down, it wasn't going to be without a fight.

A true hail of snowballs rained down everywhere as the group let loose a double-handed round on Joey before it turned into a free-for-all melee.

* * *

"Now remember, no matter what happens, we can't hit Téa. That wouldn't sit too well with her if one of us tried to ask her out afterwards. The beanpole, however, has this and a whole lot more coming. I don't care who he is. He can't talk to me that way, as if he's somehow superior. I can't wait to wipe that smirk off his stupid face." 

"I know, Harvey. I'm not a complete moron and besides, you've told me this a million times already." Drake stuck out his tongue at his best friend, who was completely oblivious to the gesture.

"KAIBA!" That one word rang across the yard til it was drowned out by a chorus of shouts from a little further away.

"What!" The slightly exasperated edge he added to that word was the perfect touch as Harvey's face turned a deeper shade of eggplant. Across the gap between them all, about fifteen feet, Harvey lost his look of concentration and faltered in his step. Seto shook his head in amazement, the snow that had gathered there falling around his face in its own blizzard. Even Wheeler's buttons weren't this easy to push. A mosquito could derail that kid's train of thought and footing.

The duo floundered for a moment before their pace sped up, their feet kicking up sprays of snow in an attempt to reach firing distance. At least they were determined. Téa had to admire that. They were facing the ass kicking of a lifetime and they seemed almost **eager** to get to it as fast as possible. Her shoulders shrugged nonchalantly as she knelt down in the snow, heedless of the cold and wet. The excitement of pummelling those two morons worse than last year had the blood pounding heatedly in her ears. Seto's presence right beside her was contributing to that as well.

Turning her face up to his, she smiled mischievously and said, "Ready?"

"Aim." Two snowballs sat ready in Seto's hands. His bare hands. Téa took notice of this little fact and grimaced.

"What? A snowball fight hadn't exactly been on my agenda when I showed up tonight."

"I don't like cold hands."

"We'll do something about that later. Right now, we've got two very angry teenage boys heading towards us."

"Oh, all right. Fire at will."

That was the beginning of the end for Drake and Harvey. With those last three words, the avalanche of snowballs they'd promised to bury Kaiba in came hurtling at them instead. They didn't stand a chance against their combined forces.

Seto's first two shots were perfect. The first one hit the snowball heading for his chest in midair, both of them exploding like fireworks. The second shot smacked hard right into Drake's stomach. The younger teen was forced to drop the second snowball he'd been about to launch so he could cover his middle and drop to his knees in agony. That hit had **hurt**. A few inches lower and he might have been singing soprano for the rest of his natural life. Drake was beginning to understand why his father was always wary and extremely polite to Kaiba.

Téa eyed Harvey from her kneeling position. He had that gleam in his eyes, the one that meant he was up to no good. Her blue eyes narrowed as she saw him take aim at Seto while Drake distracted him. No way. There was no way she was going to let some jumped up excuse for a football player tag team Seto in the middle of a snow fight. It was a two-on-two match up, even if **they** weren't willing to admit it. The corners of her lips curled up, in a pretty good imitation of the trademark Kaiba smirk, and her shots were off. The first hit Harvey in the shoulder and as he staggered back, the second shot took him right in the knee. Another teetering step backwards and a grunt of pain let her know that her aim was still perfect. Target practice in gym class was still serving her well.

Shots from both sides continued for another minute or two, snowballs arcing through the air every couple of seconds. They hadn't yet realized their error in judgement. No one takes on a Kaiba and wins. Seto's hand cut through the air, signalling a halt to all snowball action from their side. Their resources were getting low and it was time to replenish them from the sources around them.

Maybe not including Téa as a target in their plans hadn't been such a good idea, Harvey thought as he winced. Her shots had gotten a lot harder since last year. The memory of that pummelling still haunted him sometimes and tonight was proving to be just as painful. Drake was still gasping from the first shot he took in the midsection and their opponents seemed to be lounging around, just waiting for them to make another move. Why weren't they taking advantage of the situation? Why were they holding back?

"Seto, why are we just sitting here? We could have buried them by now," Téa exclaimed softly, looking up at him. His blue eyes were luminous in the faint light and their preternatural glitter made her tingle. What was he thinking? He'd never been this unreadable before.

"Good things come to those who wait, Téa. And victory is so much sweeter when it's snatched from the opponent's hands. Don't worry. Those two will never know what hit them. Just keep stockpiling the snowballs. We're going to need them very shortly," Seto replied, his eyes focussed on the two before him. If he had been anything other than a human, he would have been licking his chops in anticipation of a good meal or sharpening his claws for the final kill. "Let them come to us, Téa. Why should we strain ourselves any more than we have to by throwing snowballs to that distance? This will work." Seto was in full control of the situation. Nothing was going to stop him.

"All right, Seto, but if it doesn't, I get to say 'I told you so' and you can't stop me." Téa trusted his instincts, both in battle and in business. After all, they were what drove him to be the best. The 'I told you so' threat was just another incentive.

"You won't have to say it." The plan was perfect. Let the baiting begin. "Téa, is Harvey a football player?" His voice was loud enough to carry to the other two boys who were still recovering from the first round of snowballs.

Her quizzical look at him made him grin as she slowly replied, "Yeah, he plays second string for the school team. Why?"

"Second string? Oh, I thought he was the mascot. He's got the face for it." Again, the same voice that drove Wheeler nuts was having the same effect on Harvey. With fists clenched at his sides, he would have been marching relentlessly on Kaiba's position if Drake hadn't grabbed his arm.

"Harvey, stop it. Can't you see what he's doing to us?"

"I don't care. No one makes fun of me or the football team and gets away with it."

"What about Drake? He's not a football player is he?" Seto's voice was deliberately sneering. Drake seemed to have more sense of the two of them and he had to take him out for the offensive to occur as he wanted.

"No, but he's as bad as Harvey when it comes to preening in locker mirrors. Too bad it never helps," Téa replied, her voice betraying exactly how she felt about someone who spent more time on his hair than any normal girl did. So **this** was Seto's idea.

"Ahh, so he doesn't have enough brains even for the football team. Too bad. They should have used him for a punching bag. Maybe that would have knocked some sense into him." This was too easy. Both of the boys were about to explode at Seto's casual, but calculated, insults. They hit where it hurt. Téa's comment hadn't been too bad, either, and the squeeze he gave her shoulder let her know that.

All Drake saw was red. How **dare** that bastard Kaiba insult him like that? A punching bag, indeed. He'd show him who should be the punching bag in a minute. "C'mon Harvey. It's time to wipe that disgusting smirk from his face and claim our victory. Téa is still waiting for one of us to ask her out. It's tradition."

"Let's go kick his ass into New Year's." Harvey's fist smacked into his palm with force as they started towards the waiting teenagers before them. Both of them bent over occasionally during their march to scoop up some snow for ammunition but they had nowhere near the amount that Seto and Téa had created. There was only one outcome to this match-up.

"Here they come, right on schedule," Seto whispered, giving her shoulder one last squeeze before he claimed two snowballs from the mountain before him. She couldn't believe that he'd managed to make them try a frontal assault with just a few, well chosen words. His insight into how those two ticked was remarkable. Readying her own snowballs, she waited for him to give the word.

"Wait, just a second or two more. A little closer, c'mon boys. Come and get it." The soft words spilled out of Seto's mouth as he judged the distance. At five feet away, he smiled an evil, villainous smile, but a smile nonetheless. "Give them what they've got coming to them, Téa."

The mountain of snowballs in front of Seto and Téa was reduced to nothingness in the next minute and a half. Drake and Harvey had made a final, fatal error. With their minds clouded by their rage to 'get' Kaiba, they'd forgotten that Téa was still there, and still on **his** side. Nothing had been done to persuade her to back off. While all of their snowballs had been aimed at Kaiba (who managed to dodge most of them), she was left free to shoot them at will.

"Not a brain between the two of them," Téa said, shaking her head sadly at the moaning piles of sprawled bodies before her. They were covered in snow from neck to boot tops. They'd lost. Badly. Even worse than last year. That would teach them to pick on Seto and maybe they would forget about asking her out ever again. Looking up at him, she saw that he was dusting the remnants of snowballs off his trench coat. Out of the ones that had been thrown, only three had actually met their marks. Not even one to the face, at least, no matter what Drake had promised to himself.

"That's it. It's over. **You** lose," Seto stated matter-of-factly in the direction that Drake and Harvey lay in. He fought the urge to do a primitive, victory dance to mark the kill. This had been a most exhilarating time tonight. They were only four feet away and yet the combined forces of Seto and Téa had brought them down easily.

"C'mon, Seto, let's go see what happened to everyone else. I think I heard Julie chasing Joey and Tristan over there," Téa said, her hand closing around his elbow to guide him in the direction the chase had gone.

"How about we don't and find another way to amuse ourselves. I'm sure whoever is involved in that snowball fight is having a good time and we'll hear all about it from them later." His refusal to budge in that particular direction may have had something to do with Téa changing her mind about going anywhere without him.

"Well, we do have to do something about those cold hands…" she started to say as she turned back towards him. His eyes were alight with mischief as he regarded her with undisguised want. "But can we at least move away from our defeated opponents?" She peered up at him through her eyelashes and he nodded his head in response.

"Of course. I wouldn't want them to see that anyways. It was hard enough when Mokuba caught us yesterday. Speaking of which, have you seen him at all tonight? I want to know if he's all right," Seto asked, his steps slow and steady as they wandered closer back to Téa's house.

Well, speak of the devil.

"I'll get you this time, Mokuba!" a female voice exclaimed laughingly from somewhere in the same vicinity. The sound of boots crunching on snow and ragged breathing was becoming louder as Seto and Téa looked on. The girl had mentioned Mokuba. What was going on and why was she trying to get him?

Mokuba burst into view through the trees just in front of the two older teens, black hair flying behind him and clouds of steam spouting from his open mouth.

"MOKUBA!" Seto shouted, hoping to stop his younger brother's flight and find out what the heck was going on.

"SETO!" He looked like a deer caught in the headlights as he turned to face his older brother. What a sight for sore eyes. Maybe now he could get away from her. She was as relentless as Seto was. "You have to save me. She won't stop…"

"Mokuba, calm down, what's going on?" Seto was concerned. His little brother was usually so in control of almost any situation. The panic in his eyes was unnatural.

"It's Megan. She says… says that… says that I…" Mokuba stopped to breathe deeply just as Megan came into view, skipping.

"Take your time, Mokuba. What did she say?" Seto was so absorbed in consoling Mokuba that he didn't even notice the entrance of the blonde-haired girl. Téa, however, did.

"Megan, what's going on?" she asked pointedly, "Mokuba looks like he's being chased by demons or something. What did you do to him during the snowball fight?"

"Nothing much. I just told him that he owed me a kiss," Megan stated, as innocently as she could manage.

Mokuba cringed at that final word. Maybe Seto would be able to protect him from that horrible fate. He was good at that. That was his job as older brother. Seto took notice of the flinch and raised his eyebrow first at Megan and then Téa before settling his gaze once more on his trembling sibling.

"Is it true, Mokuba? Do you owe her a kiss?" Seto said it in as serious a voice as he could but it was hard. Here he thought that someone had threatened to kidnap him or send him to the so-called Shadow Realm when in fact it was just a girl chasing him for a little peck on the lips. Keeping a straight face took all of his will power.

"Yeah, I threw a snowball at her and I missed…" Mokuba started.

Téa groaned. She knew where this was headed. And knowing Megan as well as she did, it didn't surprise her one bit.

"…and then she said 'Missed me, missed me, now ya gotta kiss me'," Mokuba replied, his breathing calming down.

"That's it, then? That's what all the fuss is about? That's why she wants to get you?" Seto asked as he looked down on his younger brother, his voice level and even, though his eyes portrayed another story entirely. Megan grinned at Mokuba's older brother. Téa rolled her eyes to the heavens and counted slowly to ten. If she hadn't, she would have lost it and started giggling insanely at the whole thing. Yup, this was all Megan's doing. Mokuba was just an unwitting pawn.

"Uh huh, she wants me to kiss her." Mokuba was a little scared of the whole idea. True, he had liked the idea of it when she was sitting on his chest but that had been different. That wouldn't have been a forced kiss. Now, though, he **owed** it to her.

"Well, Mokuba, this is going to be a hard lesson for you to learn but there won't be that many girls in your life that will beg you to kiss them. Usually it's the other way around. Just ask Téa. She'll tell you it's all true." The older Kaiba brother looked to the taller girl and saw the tears in her eyes from holding back a fit of the giggles.

Téa's sides were hurting from holding in the laughter, but a hiss escaped from between her lips before she managed to clamp them shut with her teeth as Mokuba's gaze swung towards her. Why did Seto have to put it that way? In fact, why did he bring her into this? Megan looked on, hands clasped behind her back. She would claim her prize yet, she just knew it. The way those two were enjoying the entire thing would almost make sure of it.

"I think you're absolutely right, Seto. Usually, it **is** the guy begging for the kiss. You should consider yourself lucky, Mokuba. Even your brother doesn't have girls begging to kiss him." Mokuba's wide eyes regarded her silently as he thought it over. He should be lucky that some girl really wanted to kiss him. Was that supposed to make him feel special? One look at Megan, her bright, blue eyes solemnly watching him as a smile played about her mouth, and he figured that maybe it wasn't such a bad thing. One, little kiss. Nothing like what he was witness to yesterday. Just a meeting of lips on lips. No more and no less. It wasn't as if it was going to hurt, either. Why was he objecting to it so strenuously? A pretty girl wanted to kiss him. Maybe Seto was right. He should take advantage of this opportunity since it may never come again.

"Since you put it that way, Téa, I guess it's not such a bad thing." Mokuba looked up at Téa and gave her a watery smile. He'd be all right. It wasn't a big thing, but the decision had to come from him.

Giving him a pat on the shoulder as she met his gaze, she said, "Okay, Mokuba. Now, Seto and I will leave the two of you alone and you can decide what you want to do. Are you all right with that idea, Mokuba?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Mokuba replied, turning his eyes once more to Megan. She **was** pretty. And **she** wanted a kiss from **him**. Not the twins, not Seto, not Yugi, not anyone else in the whole wide world. Just him. A glow formed in the pit of his stomach and spread throughout his entire system. He was surprised that no one could see him sparkling in the dark of the night. Megan's eyes widened when their stares met and locked. Well, maybe she could see it.

"Bye, Mokuba, Megan. Don't be too long out here. I have a feeling the snowball fight is almost over." Mokuba watched Seto and Téa melt into the distance and knew what they were about to do. Which was what he was about to do, too. Gulping once, he turned back to Megan and slowly closed the distance that separated them. He felt as if he might be walking to his doom and Megan was the one holding the axe. No, it was just a kiss. No one said it had to be slobbery or gross or anything! Just his lips on top of hers. Nothing like yesterday's yuck fest in Seto's office.

He hadn't even noticed that Megan had started walking towards him as well, so lost in thought was he, until he was almost toe-to-toe with her in the snow. She smiled at him then and shivers raced up his spine, as the glow in his system was reborn.

"Hi, Megan," he said softly, not being able to bring his eyes up to meet hers. His toe was digging a deep hole through the snow as he eyed her brown boots.

"Hi, Mokuba," she replied just as softly. Now that the moment to claim her prize had actually arrived, she wasn't feeling as confident. In fact, she was downright nervous as to how to proceed. This was the first time she'd ever been so close to someone so cute. Her mother never told her that boys could make her feel just as goofy as she made them feel.

The tremble in her voice matched his and he realized that she was just as scared as he was. Maybe, if they did it together it wouldn't be so bad. If neither of them knew what to expect, then it was all right. "So, uh, I guess you want your kiss right?"

"It's not **my** kiss, Mokuba. It's ours. We'll share it together." Her pink-mittened hand tilted his chin up slowly and violet-grey eyes peered at ocean blue ones. "You know, you really are cute."

"And you're really pretty." Mokuba's voice held wonder as he watched a blush extend across her cheeks. Reaching out his own navy-blue mittened hand, he cupped her cheek and felt a matching flush spread over his own features. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah. Are you?" she asked, moving in just the tiniest little bit closer to him. She was so close now that her boots threatened to actually touch his if she moved just a quarter inch more.

"I think so." Mokuba sighed once and closed his eyes as he leaned in towards Megan. Megan let her lids fall closed and did the same.

Somehow, their noses missed colliding during this all-important moment.

Soft lips met gently under the still falling snow.

It was like nothing he'd ever experienced before. It was sweeter than chocolate and more touching than just about anything else in the entire world.

Wow was the only thing she could think of. Nothing had prepared her for this moment and she really couldn't describe how it made her feel besides wonderful.

Their mouths parted and their eyes opened. Two pairs of eyes gleamed warmly.

"That was way better than I'd expected," Mokuba said, pulling himself away from her.

"I agree," Megan replied, clasping her hands in front of her as she stood up straight once more. "Thanks, Mokuba, for letting me share my first kiss with you."

"Then that means the two of us shared our first kiss together. Thanks, Megan." Mokuba, ever the dramatic one, crossed his arm over his chest and gave her a sweeping bow. Her amused giggle made him smile. Looking back, he didn't understand how he could have been so afraid of kissing her. It wasn't a death sentence, after all.

"Let's go see what everyone else is doing. Maybe we can throw some more snowballs," she suggested, grasping his hand with hers. There would be no tug-of-war this time, she was sure.

"Okay. Maybe I can throw some at Joey this time," came the enthusiastic reply. The two friends raced off towards Julie's house, the last seen location of anyone besides Seto and Téa.

Both of them made sure to keep a tight grip on the other's hand.

* * *

"Bye, Mokuba, Megan. Don't be too long out here. I have a feeling the snowball fight is almost over." Seto turned for one last look at his little brother and saw the two youngsters slowly walking towards each other. Ahh, puppy love. His gaze hardened a little as he turned it towards the girl walking right next to him. "So I **don't** have any girls begging me for kisses?" 

"Nope," was the simple answer he got. Too bad it was so dark with the snow still falling around them or he would have seen the glitter of her smile as she looked at the ground at her feet.

"Would you like me to change that?" Her breath hitched once or twice as his arm suddenly snaked itself around her waist and pulled her close. Checking the area around them, he saw that it was virtually deserted. Mokuba and Megan were far behind them and the Christmas lights from Téa's house still shed only a faint light out this far into the yard.

"That would be a nice change of pace. Making **you** beg has gotten a little boring." Her provocative voice had him growling in the back of this throat as he took complete control over this situation as well. Guiding her with the arm he had around her waist, he had her back pressed up against the trunk of a tree in seconds. The dim glow from the Christmas lights combined with the twinkle of the snow as it fell softly around them gave the night an almost magical quality.

"Oh really, well we do have to keep the spark between us alive somehow. How's this for a so-called change of pace?" She'd never realized how strong he was and that he could manhandle her so easily. It was exciting to know that he could take charge, anywhere, anytime. The need to kiss him was growing stronger and if he didn't do it soon…

"Not bad at all, and we still have to do something about your cold hands." Her own hands slowly wound their way up his chest to his neck, loosely holding on there. He was the one in charge. She'd let him make the rest of the moves.

So he now had the challenge of making her beg, hmm? This would be a challenge he would love winning. He'd have her begging in no time at all. He wasn't the head of his own multi-billion dollar company for nothing. He was used to people begging, although not quite in this fashion.

His movements began slowly and deliberately, heightening the already high tension between them. With her back pressed up against the tree trunk, his long, jean-clad legs moulded themselves against hers. His hips and chest followed the same process, feeling the electric tingle anywhere they were touching. Reaching up, his hands took hold of hers, twining their fingers together, as he brought them from around his neck back down to waist level. His hands were still cold but that only contrasted with how hot she was. The only part of their bodies not touching were faces.

'So far, so good. He's not done anything too drastic yet. I can hold out for as long as he can. He won't make me beg tonight.' Her body, however, betrayed her as it unconsciously sought his heat. Seto nearly lost it when her hips moved gently against his. The only thing that saved him was biting his lower lip for a second and taking a deep breath before moving on to stage two of the challenge.

Smiling down at her, and seeing her resistance to his presence, he leaned in closer and gently pressed his lips to hers. Nothing more than that. Softness was the key here. His hands moved to grip her fingers more tightly, knowing what she was about to do before she even did it. As she tried to deepen the kiss by pressing herself in closer, the pressure of his hands kept her from doing so. The more she tried to get more from him, the less she felt of his lips as he slowly pulled them away. A soft mewl of frustration tickled his mouth but he hardened his resolve to make her beg.

"Seto," she pleaded softly, "Please…" The rest of whatever she was going to say was lost in a growl of exasperation. If he didn't kiss her properly, and soon, she was going to scream. And right now, she didn't particularly care who heard.

Instead of acceding to her request, his mouth ghosted across hers, teasing and tormenting the one he still held with his hands. A whimper this time. How much longer he could do this for, he didn't know, but the sounds she was making were exciting him. She'd never made **those** noises before. Just a little longer.

"Please what? I didn't quite catch the rest of it," he taunted, his mouth hovering a mere hairsbreadth away from the temptation of her lips. Her breathy gasps were starting to affect him. He just wished she'd hurry up and say the magic words.

"Please, Seto, I'm begging you. Kiss me." Ah, music to his ears. When she'd had him begging for a kiss on her couch a few nights before, he couldn't even articulate words. He couldn't hold back any longer. Her soft, dulcet tones worked their magic on him and his lips swept down on hers once more, giving her what they both desperately wanted.

"Wow," she whispered once their lips had finally parted for a breath of air. The whole world suddenly looked new and bright and her grin stretched from ear to ear. He chuckled softly as he pressed her closer to his chest. He didn't ever want to let her go.

"That's all I get for making you beg is a lowly 'Wow'? I'm going to have to try harder next time." His impish smile, what she could see of it, amused her and she laughed. She still remembered that first kiss they had shared in the snow of her front yard and it had only gotten better from there. Who knew that giving someone a present wrapped in red and green paper could have such interesting consequences?

"Actually, I should upgrade that 'Wow' to a 'That was amazing!'"

"And that means… what exactly?"

"That means that on a scale of one to ten, that kiss was a thirty-eight thousand." He chuckled softly. Being with her was proving to be a test of his mental, and physical, faculties. She never ceased to surprise or amaze him.

"Know what?" she asked, seeing the far-away look in his eyes.

"No, what?" He focussed on her once more and was surprised to see their entwined hands held before them, fingers waggling wildly.

"You're hands aren't cold anymore," she teased. The deep rumble of his laugh made her giggle before their hands separated. "Now, how about we round up everyone and head inside for some hot chocolate and cheesecake?"

"I'd rather not, but if you insist…"

"Now, now, remember, you have to play nice. The guys aren't as bad as you think they are." The carefully disguised cough hid his snort of disgust.

"Really? I'll put up with them for your sake but right now, you can't ask for more than that." His eyes locked on hers and she could see that she shouldn't press the issue. Well, they'd all learn to get along one day. They'd have to if this turned out to be a long-lasting relationship. Even Joey and Seto. Thinking back over the last few years and the various events between them, she grimaced. Okay, well maybe not those two. But an uneasy peace was better than an all-out war.

"Well, that's better than an all out 'No'. Thanks," she commented. Reaching up to ruffle his hair, something she hadn't been able to do during their kiss, she turned and started back towards the house. The rest of the neighbourhood had gone deadly silent in the last thirty seconds. The pressure of Seto's arm around her shoulders made her sigh in satisfaction and snuggle in closer until a single word rang through the night like a silver bell.

"_**KAIBA!"**_

_

* * *

_

Don't you just hate cliff-hangers? Anyways, hope you all enjoyed the final battle here. I thought it was highly entertaining myself. Can't wait for the next chapter. What mischief is in store for our beloved friends?

Thanks for all of the reviews. Next chapter should be up in a little while. I may take a break from it so that I can work on chapter three of "I Need to Get This Out".

Aphrael21;)


	10. And the Winner is

**Chapter 10 – And the Winner is…**

I fooled you all…

* * *

…_The rest of the neighbourhood had gone deadly silent in the last thirty seconds. The pressure of Seto's arm around her shoulders made her sigh in satisfaction and snuggle in closer until a single word rang through the night like a silver bell._

"_**KAIBA!"**_

The couple froze as the echo of the shout reverberated across the neighbourhood for a few more seconds before the silence came once more. The hand on her shoulder tightened slightly and she didn't dare breathe lest someone hear the noise. Willing her heart to slow down its fast and furious beating, she chanced a peak up at Seto.

An arrogant fire danced in his eyes as he scanned the area for any signs of a living being. "Do you think someone's seen…" he heard her whisper softly before it trailed off. The questioning voice made him ponder that for a second. No, he doubted that anyone had been in the vicinity when they'd kissed. He'd made sure of that before he'd undergone the challenge of making her beg, quite successfully he smugly thought.

"If they had, there would have been more shouting and most of it wouldn't have been very pleasant," Seto replied, purposefully not quieting his voice. That seemed to reassure her as the tenseness left her shoulders.

"You're right. And Joey would have been all over you to try and 'protect' me," she said, chuckling.

"Try being the operative word," Seto amended. The silence was broken again a second later.

"**_Téa! Where are you guys?"_** Joey's voice hollered once more. **_"Mokuba! Megan! Come on out."_**

"**_Drake, Harvey, c'mon out. The coast is clear! Ollie, Ollie oxen free!"_** Julie's voice rang across the neighbourhood from a different direction than Joey's voice. That group must have split up to search for the missing participants.

"We'd better go join them before they come looking for us en masse." Holding the now-cold-again hand on her shoulder with her own, the two of them started to slowly trudge towards Joey's voice. That boy had a set of pipes on him that could wake the dead, should the need ever arise.

The snowball fight was officially finished.

* * *

"I hope dose two show up soon." Joey sighed once as he looked over at his friends, snow covering every exposed surface except for their faces. Joey was in no condition to mention anything about that since he was the worst of the bunch. After all, he'd been the original target and a disproportionate number of snowballs still hit him even when the fight had degenerated into a free-for-all. All thoughts of a predatory Kaiba preying on Téa in the snow had flown away during the chaos. 'Operation Keep Away' was now an utter, disastrous failure. None of them had managed to keep track of either Téa or Kaiba. Joey just prayed that Téa had been smart enough to stay far away from him and his evil plans to get her to spill on Yugi's deck. Kaiba was too smooth for his own good.

"Yeah, Téa makes really good hot chocolate and that would be perfect right now," Tristan mused, not seeing the hand heading for the side of his head until it was too late. Yugi chuckled as Tristan grumbled under his breath.

"Keep yer mind on Téa for a sec instead of yer stomach. We gotta find her 'n' Kaiba," Joey said, missing the stuck out tongue that his best friend gave him. Knots of tension rippled down his back as he peered out once again into the snowy darkness.

"Well, it was **your** stupid idea to keep track of them in the first place. He probably didn't even try anything out here. How could he? It's too dark to see your own hand in front of your face," Tristan replied, temper flaring slightly. It was always his fault when Joey's plans went wrong. Not this time. He placed the blame exactly where it belonged – the creator of their 'brilliant' scheme. Joey was the one that had talked them all into it. Not that he'd had to try that hard, but still…

"Maybe we should just go find them," Yugi suggested, hoping that would distract them from the brewing fight. Those two would never grow up. If it wasn't one thing they were arguing about, it was another. Yami smiled at the thought of Yugi being the referee (and peacekeeper) between those two all the time. Despite his short stature, the other two boys looked up to him.

"I still can't believe dat she managed t' talk him into comin' here on Christmas Eve anyways. And the weirdest part is dat Kaiba actually showed up. I just hope dat someone managed t' snowball his smirkin' face since I neva got a chance to," Joey said, scanning the area once more for any sign of movement. A clod of snow dislodged itself from his shoulder and fell with a 'poof' to the ground.

"Knowing Kaiba, he probably snowed theirs at the first sign of an encounter. He's not one to be taken unawares, you know." Yugi sighed and thrust his hands further into his pockets. When Téa and Kaiba showed up, it would probably be together. He was willing to bet his life savings on that.

"Yeah, I know. Dat guy always seems to be three steps ahead of everyone," Joey replied. A rustle in the trees had everyone's attention.

Julie came trudging back from her quick walk-about to see if she could spot any of the 'missing' members of the group. No luck. Mokuba and Megan were nowhere to be found. Drake and Harvey had simply disappeared although she had seen traces of a major snowball fight and the imprint of two bodies on the ground near Drake's house. Téa and Kaiba, well, she hadn't spotted them either and she hadn't been expecting to. There was something serious going on between those two… she'd felt it when they had all introduced themselves at the end of Téa's driveway.

"No sign of anyone on the other side of Drake's house," Julie announced and watched the three boys' faces fall in disappointment. "It's like the darkness just swallowed them whole."

An involuntary shudder raced through Yugi, Joey and Tristan. Memories of Shadow Games and white haired maniacs bubbled to the surface only to be brutally squashed. There wasn't a chance that maybe… somehow…

"Don't **say** that!" Joey exclaimed, a hand running through his fringe and getting wet from the snow still stuck in it. Taking a deep breath and forcing away thoughts of mad men with Millennium Items and white hair (Pegasus, Evil Bakura, Marik's darker half), he prepared to holler once more for Téa and the others when another rustling in the trees grabbed everyone's focus.

All eyes turned towards the noise and watched as four bodies came into view through the tree branches. Two of them were small and holding hands and the other two, taller ones were holding each other up. Seconds later, Ryan and Bryan re-appeared from their search across the other side of the cul-de-sac near their house and Megan's. Judging by the downcast eyes, they hadn't spotted anybody, although they did brighten at the sight of four of the missing six members.

"Mokuba! Megan!" Yugi exclaimed, waving at the pair holding hands. "Do you know where your brother and Téa have gotten to? Have you seen them recently?"

Mokuba waved back and the two moved closer, holding hands tightly, before he answered Yugi's questions. He needed a minute to think of a plausible answer. Megan kept quiet, knowing that it wouldn't be right to speak for Mokuba. And there was something shifty in the way Mokuba's mouth was set, as if he was thinking hard about something. "I saw them a few minutes ago, heading that way." Mokuba carefully pointed far away from where he'd actually seen the pair slip off to, more towards Harvey's house than Téa's. It wouldn't do to have the secret spoiled just yet.

Blinking once, Megan understood what Mokuba was doing. 'Throwing them off the trail of his brother and Téa,' she thought. Maybe they didn't know that those two were together. How could they not? Even a blind man would see the vibes those two were giving off. Téa's friends obviously were a couple sandwiches short of a picnic.

"Where's everyone else? Has anyone gone to find Téa and Kaiba yet?" Ryan asked, shaking the snow off his hat. He and his brother were just as snow-covered as everyone else and the grin they shared testified to the enjoyment of the fight. A hacking cough was heard in the background just as Drake and Harvey finally stumbled into the ranks of the group. They looked worn-out, exhausted, drained and slightly snow-mannish.

"Those two…wow…" was all Harvey managed to blurt out before falling to his knees. Drake didn't look any better at all, his hand on Harvey's shoulder to keep the swaying down to a minimum. Neck to ankles, both front and back were encrusted with white snow. So much of it was stuck to them that it was hard to tell what colour their coats were.

"Which two?" everyone asked at the same time, although the question was absolutely rhetorical. There was only one possibility of which two they could be talking about.

"Téa… and that… guy… Kaiba," Drake muttered, his harsh indrawn breath proving just how tired he was. There was no more fight left in him. Joining Harvey on his knees, one hand scrubbed through his hair at the memories of that wicked fight. It hadn't taken very long but it had been fast and furious. He never wanted to face that guy in a snowball fight ever again. And if his dad ever offered him the chance to run the company, he was going to flat out refuse. Meeting Kaiba in a boardroom would be a hundred times worse than any humiliation he suffered in a snowball fight. Besides, his older brother Scott was set to inherit so there should be no chance of him taking over anytime soon.

"Kaiba and Téa teamed up together? Aw, man, we're too late. He's already turned her to the dark side!" Joey exclaimed, covering his face with his hands. He should have been protecting Téa instead of chasing after a cute girl in a pink jacket. It was all his fault that Téa was about to become dog meat at Kaiba's hands. Tristan clapped him on the shoulder, sharing in his friend's unspoken misery.

Everyone except Yugi and Tristan were confused by Joey's outburst. What 'dark side' was he talking about? Those two were so cute together that it wasn't even funny. Could they not see that? Harvey did not intend to ever ask Téa out again until he heard confirmation that those two were finally broken up and Kaiba had moved to Africa or somewhere else equally far away. Drake didn't even want to hear Téa's name since it would probably be in conjunction with Kaiba's and that would just bring back too many memories. Julie wanted to congratulate her on finding someone worthy of her time and attention. Megan was too busy holding Mokuba's hand and blushing as she snuck peaks at him to even think more on the subject. And Mokuba, well, he was grinning fit to split. He knew exactly what was going on between those two but that all slipped out of his head when Megan gave his mittened hand a gentle squeeze.

Speak of the devil…

"Hey guys, what's up?" Téa asked brightly as she stepped out from the cover of trees, Seto, with his trench coat flaring dramatically, not three steps behind her. She hadn't heard anything that Joey said but was curious as to why everyone looked so clueless. Drake cringed at the sight and a whimper escaped Harvey's lips. Those two were never going to live down tonight's humiliation. Ryan and Bryan looked at the two cowering in the snow before looking at each other. This was their year to make the lives of those two teenage boys a miserable one. All they had to do was start a rumour and then… their smile was absolutely downright evil.

"Téa! Are you all right? Has **he** been buggin' you?" It was amazing how fast Joey's emotions could change. Like quicksilver. He rushed over to her, heedless of the snow still clinging to him and protectively placed his arm around her shoulders. With a glance behind him at Kaiba, Joey noticed a flare of… something in his eyes as he put himself between his best friend and his worst enemy.

"I'm fine, Joey. And no, he **hasn't** been bugging me. We just shared a snowball fight together." If Joey had been paying closer attention, he would have noticed Seto's fists clenching hard enough to draw blood. The mutt was seriously closing to breaking their truce. The quick wave of Téa's hand behind her back was the only thing that stopped him from nailing the doofus with a well-placed snowball to the back of his mangy, blonde head.

One thing stood out in her mind as Téa surveyed the gathered group before her. They were all white. "Looks like you guys had a good time." They followed her eyes as she scanned them all once more and then took a good look at her.

There wasn't a single flake of snow on her that looked like it could have come from a snowball fight. Nothing, nada, zip, zilch. No one could believe their eyes. They knew she was good, but they didn't realize she was that good.

"TÉA!" Julie exclaimed, unable to contain her happiness. "You won the snowball fight. There's not a flake on you except for what's fallen from the sky. You know what that means, right?"

The grin spreading across Téa's face let everyone know that she knew what winning meant. The second year in a row. How many more good things were going to happen to her for the rest of the night? She couldn't wait to claim her prize. And the boys were going to pay for it. Life was good. "Well, Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Kaiba, Mokuba. Do you know what I want for winning the snowball fight?"

Seto's thoughts immediately went naughty as he imagined what she wanted. Everyone else, except Mokuba, just groaned.

"No, Téa, not again. Please Téa, not that." Tristan collapsed to his knees, arms outstretched in the air above him as he grovelled before her.

"Please, anyting but dat." There were actual tears starting to form in Joey's eyes.

"You wouldn't make us do that again, would you? After last year's disaster?" Yugi's gaze caught hers and pleaded with her to relent on her decision to do this.

The gleam in her eye as she surveyed them all let them know that yes, she was planning on a repeat of last year's prize.

"So what is it that you want for winning, Téa? Why are Yugi, Tristan and Joey complaining about it?" Mokuba asked, feeling a little left out of the whole conversation. Megan could only grin. She'd heard second hand from Julie last year when Téa had won. A giggle was quickly smothered as Mokuba swung his gaze to her. It wouldn't do to spoil the surprise for him just yet.

"Well Mokuba, last year for winning the snowball fight, I had the boys take on clean up duty. After breakfast, they did the dishes. After opening presents, they cleaned up the paper and garbage. After lunch, they again washed the dishes. I'm assuming you get the idea now?" The look she shot Seto should have told everyone what was going on between them but as usual, the boys were too busy whining over their set duties for the next day to pay any attention to it.

Could she somehow already know of his plans to join her that night? Seto folded his arms more tightly across his chest as he returned her smouldering look. He suspected she was psychic. She had an uncanny knack for knowing exactly what he was thinking.

"But what disaster is Yugi talking about? What happened last year?" Mokuba was just full of questions tonight. It may have had something to do with the girl standing next to him. He really didn't want the snowball fight to end. That would mean it was time for them to stop holding hands and go their separate ways, something he wasn't looking forward to. Now he knew how Seto felt every time he had to say good-bye to Téa.

"Nothing serious. He's making it worse than it really was. They broke a few dishes and then my Mom made them buy replacement ones. I told them to be careful but no, they just had to horse around when they were washing and drying the plates. It was their own fault." Kaiba's smirk was relentless as he filed the information away. Who knew when it would come in handy to know something like that about Joey, Tristan and Yugi? Téa's glance over at him and the knowing look in her eyes was too much and the corners of his lips tugged up into a smile. A very small one, but a smile nonetheless. The only other person who caught it was Yugi.

"**Julie! It's time to come home, dear. It's getting late,"** a woman's voice broke through the excited chatter of everyone talking at once. It seemed that that was just the beginning of calls for everyone else in the group to come home for the night.

"I guess de party's ova, eh?" Joey asked, just a little rhetorically, as he watched the 'other' group head to their respective homes for the night.

"The party's just beginning," Téa replied, glancing back at her friends, her blue eyes lingering on Seto for a split second longer than anyone else.

Yup, she was definitely psychic.

* * *

Well, here it is, Chapter 10 finally. It's a little short but I hope you enjoyed it. It's just a prelude to what's about to happen in the house for the next little while. Remember, they still have to eat cheesecake and play another game of 'Idiot'.

I've already started writing that chapter, so I should have it up in a couple of weeks. (Keeping fingers crossed)

Aphrael21;)


	11. Flashback, Cheesecake and YUGI, Oh My!

**Chapter 11 – Flashback, Cheesecake and YUGI, Oh My!**

As promised, here it is, Chapter 11. My crazy little tale is almost at a close. I'm sad to see it go but that means that now I'll be able to concentrate wholeheartedly on "I Need to Get This Out…" and possibly "Summer Rains" and a third fic that I've had an idea for almost a year now. I've been too happy about too much other stuff to get in the right mood to continue the first one. So on with the show…

See Disclaimer on my Bio Page. I'm too lazy to write it out here.

* * *

Coats and hats had been neatly hung up in the laundry room. Mittens and gloves lay atop various heating vents throughout the house to dry from their drenching during the snowball fight. Much confusion and laughter had ruled the house as the five guys and one girl had tried to manoeuvre through the hallways and stairwells without running into each other. Even Kaiba's usual, arrogant smirk was replaced by something closer resembling a thin-lipped half smile. Extra towels had been passed around for hands, faces and hair and everyone figured that now was as good a time as any to put on pyjamas and get ready for bed.

Small fights had erupted, between Tristan and Joey and also between Kaiba and Mokuba, over who got to use the bathroom to change first. Naturally, Téa and Yugi had slipped under the radars and stolen the washrooms out from under their noses. Joey kept insisting that being hit as many times as he'd been, he deserved the washroom first. Tristan countered with the phone number he'd gotten from Julie. It had turned into a one-upmanship contest and Téa took advantage of their distraction to slip around them and into the bathroom unnoticed. Mokuba tried to convince Seto that since he was the youngest, he deserved to change first (so he could help with getting dessert ready was his reasoning). Kaiba wasn't going to follow that idea so he countered with his 'I'm the older brother, you'd better do what I say' routine. Yugi watched with interest for a moment or two. It was a rare occasion to see the two boys fighting like this, but eventually, the need to change out of his soaking wet clothes got the better of him and he slipped around the arm-waving, younger Kaiba, using him as a shield to block the sight of the older Kaiba. Perfect timing. Those two didn't realize they'd been outfoxed until the door was shut and locked.

Giggles, shouts and pounding fists reverberated through the house for the next few minutes before Yugi and Téa triumphantly emerged, dressed in pyjamas, faces washed and glowing. Téa laughed as she headed towards the kitchen to get snacks ready for the card game. That was the only way to stop Joey and Tristan from tickling her to death, as they'd promised through the locked door. Yugi wandered down the hallway, ignoring the silent, wide-eyed stares the Kaibas' gave him as he walked smugly passed.

Téa was already in the kitchen, preparing everything for their dessert and card game when Yugi came in, dressed in his blue flannel pyjamas with stars and moons on them. She was humming a catchy Christmas tune as she filled the electric kettle from the sink and Yugi took a moment to bask in her happiness. He sincerely hoped that Kaiba knew just how lucky he was to have a girl like her by his side.

'_He'd better realize how lucky he is,' Yami commented, his amethyst eyes gleaming darkly. 'If he doesn't, I shall make sure he rues the day he was born.'_

'_You wouldn't have a chance to do anything,' Yugi stated, looking to the Spirit next to him. 'Téa has a way of handling anyone unlucky enough to cross her. Remember what she did to Joey after that disastrous picnic at her house? The one where the roses died a week later?'_

**_Flashback… last summer… a week after the roses died a horrible death…_**

"_Put it on, Joey," Téa commanded, her eyes flashing angrily and her voice backed by steel as she thrust something large, pink and fluffy at her friend._

"_Téa, isn't dere anyting else I could do? Clean your room, wax yer dad's car, eat a jar full of Habaneros peppers? Anyting but dis, please!" Joey cried, his distraught voice reaching a higher, more whiny pitch as he fell to his knees before Téa and raised his arms up for her mercy._

_No such luck for him. She wasn't feeling very merciful at that moment. The shock of losing the roses **that** way still burned in her mind and Joey was about to pay for what he'd done to those innocent flowers that were in the wrong place at the wrong time._

"_No, Joey. Nothing else at all will do. Quit your whining and put it on. You did the crime and now you are so going to do the time." Her hands shook the pink thing once more and a bit of fluff landed on Joey's nose. "Eating got you into this mess in the first place and doing this will get you out of it. Just do it, Joey, or do **I** have to put it on for you?" The threat hung in the air between them for a moment as Yugi and Tristan tried to control the bubbles of laughter that were squirming to get out. Téa and Joey had been arguing for a good half hour about this and it looked like Téa had just been declared the winner if the look of fear in Joey's eyes was anything to judge by._

_Joey glared at the two boys covering their mouths with their hands. How could they find this situation so funny? He was about to commit social suicide and they thought it was a laugh riot. If any of the girls at school found out about this, there was no way he would ever get a date with any one of them. One more look at Téa and he gave a dejected sigh. Why did he always do these stupid things? They always came around to bite him back. He should have learned by now to not mess with Téa._

"_A'right, already. Gimme de damn ting," Joey said, holding out his hands as he stood up from the punishing kneel he'd fallen into. Téa's smug look almost killed him as she dumped it into his arms and he headed for the bathroom._

_The giggles that followed him just made him grit his teeth and bear it._

_For every action, there was an equal and opposite reaction._

_Joey was in the process of getting his reaction._

_----------------------------_

"_Téa, how much longer do I have to wear dis stupid ting? People are starting to freak me out. And de kids are annoyin'!" Joey whined, plucking at the sleeve of his 'outfit'. Téa had forced him to put on a fuzzy, fluffy, pink pig costume. But the humiliation hadn't ended there, oh no. A sign hung around his neck proclaiming, in bold, black letters, 'I ate 17 hamburgers at one time and my breath killed roses'._

_As they walked the hallways of Domino Mall, people slowed and then stopped to read the sign before laughter and giggles erupted around them. It was hard to miss a seven-foot tall 'pig' strolling through the corridors. People stared and pointed, some almost collapsing from the humour of it all, as the foursome approached. Small children thought it was amusing and held Joey's fuzzy hands, swinging them wildly with laughter and glee. They rubbed his white belly and giggled as it actually jiggled. Then there was the tail pulling. Joey swore to himself that the next kid that did that was going to die a painful, horrible death until he looked back at Téa and saw the steel in her eyes._

_Téa, Yugi and Tristan walked a little bit behind Joey, thoroughly enjoying their friends' predicament. His heartfelt pleas for release from his humiliating torture finally melted through her anger and her eyes softened._

_They were almost at the food court anyways. Time to set him free._

"_Okay, Joey, I think that's punishment enough for what you did to those poor, defenceless roses. We'll meet you at the food court for some pizza when you're done changing. I'll even treat you to a slice." The look of relief on his face as his pink hands flew to untie the strings holding the pig head to his own was worth it. Maybe next time he'd think twice about overeating at a picnic and killing rosebushes._

_**End Flashback…**_

'_You're right, Yugi. I remember that now. She has a way of taking care of herself. Quite independent,' Yami mused. Yugi smiled at the Pharaoh as he walked further into the kitchen, intending to offer Téa his help to get everything ready._

"Oh, hey Yugi. Want to help me get the cheesecake ready? I've already got water on for hot chocolate. I just have to cut and plate the cheesecake," Téa asked, turning around and spotting her best friend walking in through the doorway.

"Sure thing, Téa," he replied, a genuine smile of contentment breaking through as he joined her at the counter to await further instructions. Now was his chance to have confirmation or denial of everything he'd been witnessing and musing over for the last week or so.

"Great. First things first, though. Can you get the cheesecake out of the fridge and bring it over here?" She gave Yugi a questioning look and he nodded a second later. What was going through his mind? She'd been expecting a detailed account of the snowball fight and instead was met with a smile and vague, far-seeing eyes. Maybe the Pharaoh was talking to him or asking him a question. Shrugging her shoulders, she took the dessert plates out of the cupboard and set them down just as she heard the fridge door slam shut.

Yugi carefully carried the cheesecake back to the counter. There was no way he was going to drop her famous dessert on the floor before he'd had a chance to eat a slice or three. Somehow, her cheesecake was always light and fluffy and he'd never been able to find a bakery that could duplicate how she did it. Plus, Téa kept it a closely guarded secret, only saying that it was a recipe her grandmother and mother had passed down to her. This one looked to be even better than usual.

It was all chocolate, from the crust to the topping to the small rosettes crowning the top of it. Yugi's mouth watered just by looking at it. The Pharaoh wasn't sure that he wanted to eat something made of cheese. Usually cheese was used to make a meal, not something that finished a meal. This would be a treat for him as well, if Yugi's reaction was anything to judge by. Strange foods they ate in this era.

The two of them shared in a comfortable silence as she cautiously cut the first slice of cheesecake. Once the first cut was made, she handed the knife to Yugi. Only she was allowed to do that. Something to do with how the knife entered the cake or something like that. She'd never really explained it to him except to say that it was tradition.

Téa sighed softly to herself. The first cut was done. Her mother had always told her that it was possible to tell how the night was going to go just by cutting through a dessert. If it went in smoothly and the chocolate coating didn't crack, the night would be perfect. If it did crack, well, that was the end of it. Something was bound to go wrong. It was a silly superstition but she'd heard it so many times and seen it proven repeatedly to disbelieve it anymore.

According to the cake, the night was going to be perfect.

Too bad it couldn't predict any further than that night. Knowing about the next morning would have been a big help.

No other sounds close by in the house were heard, ensuring that everyone else was still getting ready for bed. The two of them were alone for a few more minutes.

Screwing up his courage before he chickened out, he asked his question. "So, Téa, tell me something." Deep breath. "How long have you and Kaiba been… you know…?"

The only sign he had that she'd heard him was her hand wavering slightly as it finished transferring the first slice of cheesecake. Her heartfelt sigh was the second one.

"I should have known you'd figure it out, Yugi." She turned towards him, cake-lifter in hand and gave him an apologetic smile. "It's only been a few days, though. Since last Saturday. You know, the day of the decorating party. You're not… mad at me, are you, for keeping it quiet?"

"Why would I be mad at you about that? It's between you and him. I really have no say in the matter." Yugi made a third cut and the second slice was plated before anything else was said between them. It wasn't a strained silence, more like relieved quiet.

"You won't tell Joey and Tristan yet, will you? You know how those two feel about him…"

"Of course not. Those two are too busy thinking that he's trying to get my deck formation out of you to see what's right in front of their faces. Besides, I think you'll be good for Kaiba. Make him a little less… uptight… if you know what I mean…" The comical waggling of his eyebrows and the very… indecent leer made her break down in giggles and almost drop the third slice on the floor.

"YUGI!" She couldn't believe he'd just said that. Sweet, innocent Yugi… The boy she'd known since she was five… had a naughty train of thought. The Pharaoh must have had something to do with that comment. That was the only explanation.

"Well, it's true; whatever you two have been up to has already changed him. I swear I saw Kaiba smile earlier, when I almost collided with him on the stairs." They shared a smile before a commotion out in the hallway snagged their attention.

"I'm gonna get you, Mokuba!"

Seconds later, the younger Kaiba flew into the kitchen, black hair flying and green pyjamas in disarray, just before a very red-faced Joey came bursting in after him. Mokuba raced around the kitchen table, stopping on the side away from a growling Joey Wheeler. Laughing uproariously, he couldn't even speak as he waved something large and blue at the older boy.

"What's going on, boys?" Téa asked, watching the two of them lunge side to side around the table. Their battle was at a stalemate. Whatever way Joey moved to try to get him, Mokuba moved the opposite to stay away. Maybe, just maybe, the Prank King had been pranked himself. Taking a closer look and leaning a little forward, Téa could just make out what the youngest Kaiba held in his hands.

A pair of navy blue pyjama bottoms.

Joey, still red-faced and huffing like a bull, tried a different tactic and went to reach for Mokuba across the table instead of darting around it. Mokuba, smart kid, snatched it just out of his reach and toned the laugh down to loud giggles. This had been his best idea ever, even better than the mistletoe last Saturday and a hundred times better than the bottle of blue dish soap Seto had worn. That had been a mistake. ROLAND was supposed to be the next person through that doorway, not Seto, especially when he'd already had a bad day at work. That had still been hilarious… and he had the Polaroids to prove it!

"Mokuba, dat little devil, picked de lock on de bathroom door, stormed in while I was washin' my face and took my pyjama bottoms. C'mon Mokuba, give 'em back!" Joey's outraged voice turned pleading as the younger boy waved said pyjama bottoms tauntingly over his head.

The scuffle in the kitchen escalated as Joey made to dash around the table once more, trying to catch Mokuba by surprise. NO such luck. He just dashed to the other side and baited Joey once more. Joey gave a growl of frustration and ran a hand through his still wet fringe. Téa and Yugi just watched from the counter. This was the best entertainment they'd had yet.

Of course, such shenanigans didn't go unnoticed by the other two members of the group. Tristan raced into the kitchen, eyes wide and arms splayed out at his sides. "What's going on? I heard all the yelling…" His voice trailed off and Téa watched his eyes go from confused to goofy. The corners of his lips curled up before they parted into the biggest belly laugh she'd ever heard. "Oh man, Joey, your legs are sooooooooooo white. You really need to get out more."

"Quit yer yappin' 'n' help me get my pants back! You probably helped him, didn't you, you traitor!" Joey's face had just passed beyond red and into the purple/eggplant spectrum from embarrassment. Here he was, pant less, covered only by his white pyjama top and a pair of green boxers and no one was helping him. Téa and Yugi were too busy laughing and Tristan was standing around, looking at him as if he were a complete doofus. How was he to know that Mokuba could pick locks? He always seemed so innocent. Then again, he was the cause of their downfall during the snowball fight. **And** that mistletoe kiss he'd shared with Téa and KAIBA… He should have remembered that the younger brother of Kaiba was just as devious as the older one.

Speak of the devil…

Seto Kaiba stalked into the kitchen and surveyed the scene before him. He'd known something was about to happen, when Mokuba had finally let him into the bathroom to change. The kid was also faster than he'd ever given him credit for. The moment that Yugi opened the door, Mokuba had elbowed Seto and rushed in, leaving him panting outside in the hallway, doubled over in slight pain. Yugi had just shrugged his shoulders, held a finger to his lips (promising his silence) and continued on towards the kitchen.

Mokuba had come out only three minutes later and made a dash for it down the hallway before Seto even had a chance to grab him and ask if he'd brushed his teeth. The kid was around the corner and down the stairs to the basement like the Devil himself (or Marik) was after him. That clued Seto in to the fact that there was mischief involved. Which he was currently not paying too much attention to. His eyes had better things to look at.

Téa stood at the counter, watching the whole scenario unfold before her, and to his eyes, she looked absolutely delicious. The yellow tank top clung delectably to her very feminine curves and the matching Capri-length bottoms hugged her hips so well that he felt his mouth start to water at the sight. And to top everything off, much as a cherry did a sundae, his pendant was snugly nestled between her breasts, winking at him every time she moved.

Tearing his eyes away from her lest his body decide to betray him at that most inopportune moment, he saw Yugi chortle happily at the battle still raging around the kitchen table. Looking at the table itself, he saw Taylor and a boxer-clad Wheeler getting ready to pounce on his cunning, little brother. Mokuba was waving what could only be a pair of pyjama bottoms and making the mutt growl in frustration. Smirking at his own little joke, he crossed his arms over his maroon-satin covered chest and contentedly leaned against the door frame to watch the outcome.

"I didn't help him. **I** just stood out of the way while he used one of Téa's hairpins to pop the lock. He did it all by himself," Tristan countered as he took the other side of the table and prepared to make a rush on Mokuba's position. Joey just glared at him and did the same at the other side of the table.

Mokuba waved the pants in the air once more, eyeing both Joey and Tristan and wondering which way to turn should they both make a dash at him at the same time. There were two of them and one of him, which evened out the odds in a way no one outside the group would really understand.

Now Joey was confused, he really wanted his pants back but he really wanted to get Tristan for standing aside and doing nothing to stop Mokuba. The need for pants won out and he gave Tristan a slight nod. Tristan grinned and they both made a lunge for Mokuba around each side of the table.

Mokuba never stood a chance.

Tristan grabbed a hold of an arm and Joey finally got a hold of his pyjama bottoms before the little scamp could make any attempt at a get away.

Seto couldn't stay quiet any longer. "Wheeler, for the sake of our eyesight, put some pants on. There is a lady present, you know." Seto growled, more to annoy than to humiliate. At least he wasn't the only one that Mokuba kept trying to prank. It was nice to see him expanding his horizons.

Everyone's eye swung to the teenager standing in the doorway, shock registering on their faces. His tone of voice hadn't quite reached his usual level of caustic sarcasm and Téa dared to hope that he was actually making a joke.

"Lady? What lady? All I see are de guys and Téa, who's almost a guy," Joey quipped, scrambling into his pyjama bottoms as fast as he could lest Mokuba find some way to steal them once more.

"Then you need to have your eyes examined," Seto retorted, his eyes catching hers. She saw the smile there and knew he was just baiting Joey for fun, not malice. Yugi was right. Seto had changed in the last few days. She still doubted though that he and Joey would ever be the best of friends.

"Whatever, Kaiba." Joey refused to get into a verbal sparring match with him. Kaiba was just way too good at twisting words around. Wait a sec… he'd just given Téa compliment by calling her a **lady**. Was he still up to his tricks to get her to spill? Pretending to be nice? No way that was going to happen, not with him around. He'd just have to keep a closer eye on the two of them tonight. No more pink jackets inside the house to distract him from his mission. Tristan and Yugi may have given up on it but he hadn't. Besides, he had plans of his own for Kaiba later on…

"All right boys, let me finish cutting up the cheesecake in peace and you guys get the table ready for another round of 'Idiot'. All you have to do is get some forks and something to drink. The pop Kaiba and I brought up from the basement before the snowball fight is in the fridge." Téa's smooth interception kept things from getting too out of hand. Besides, it was already past eight o'clock. She still needed to win at least one more hand to be declared the ultimate 'Idiot' winner for this year. And if not, it was best two out of three.

The cheesecake was also calling to her…

And so far, it hadn't lied… the night was going perfectly well.

* * *

Well, Chapter 12 will be on its way soon. Get ready for some card playing fun next chapter. That should be the next couple of weeks or so… Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well as the others I've posted.

Aphrael21 ;)


	12. The Heat is ON

**The Heat is On**

Wow, chapter 12 and it's pretty close to being finished. Get ready for some card-playing fun, Yu-Gi-Oh style. What crazy mischief will everyone get into now?

Sorry if it's a little short but I promise I'm working on it as we speak…

* * *

Cans of pop from the fridge had been distributed, mugs of hot chocolate warmed still chilly hands and plates of chocolate cheesecake sat temptingly on the table as the group of teenagers got ready for yet another round of 'Idiot'. Disaster had only been narrowly averted moments before as Téa had intervened between Joey and Seto debating whether she was a lady or not. Those two would never see eye to eye on anything, except maybe Duel Monsters strategies.

Joey, bound and determined to keep Kaiba and Téa apart, hovered near her, ready to take his place between her and 'Moneybags', much as he had at the end of the snowball fight. Téa took notice of this and while she loved him dearly for the sentiment, she knew that he wouldn't succeed. Her and Seto were opposites and totally attracted to each other. Their kiss outside in the snow had proven that beyond a shadow of a doubt. Besides, the rules for 'Idiot' had yet to be taken into account.

With both hands full of drinks, she cleared her throat to calm down the idle chatter and focus everyone's eyes on her for a second. "Are we all ready to play cards?" A general nod from everyone and an inconspicuous wink from Seto gave her her answer. "Great, now let's take our places at the table according to the rules."

"There are rules for where you sit for this game?" Mokuba piped up from somewhere beside Yugi. He'd never heard of this idea before. Usually, though it was just him and his brother playing cards. Playing with a lot of people was way more exciting. More of a challenge, too.

"Of course, it's just to make the next rule a little easier to follow. Okay, Joey, you and Tristan take that side of the table, and Kaiba and I will sit on this side. Yugi, you and Mokuba take the ends since you two are the neutrals."

Joey groaned silently. First, he'd lost the battle to get in the washroom with Téa, then he'd been ambushed by a black-haired devil who stole his pyjama pants and now he couldn't even keep Téa from sitting near that jerk, Kaiba. The rules were very specific. The President and Vice President sat across from the other President and Vice President. He was so used to it just being the four of them at Christmas that he'd forgotten all about that particular rule. Operation Keep Away was now a humiliating disaster instead of just a miserable attempt. Seto smirked at Wheeler's flustered expression. A master of keeping his thoughts to himself, he was definitely not.

Yugi, and consequently Yami, noticed the sizzling look Kaiba and Téa shared as they moved towards their new, respective seats next to each other. This game should prove to be highly interesting as a flash of challenge rose unspoken between the couple. Yes, they were a couple. And perfectly suited for each other. Somehow, Téa had already managed to mellow out a high-strung Kaiba. Nothing was lost on Mokuba either as he bounced towards the far end of the table to take his place. Those two were still making 'eyes' at each other. At least he understood that girls really weren't that bad after all. Images of Megan flashed through his mind and he sighed. He should have gotten her phone number – maybe they could have played together after school sometime. Maybe Téa would get it for him. In exchange for certain, embarrassing Polaroids of a CEO she liked, of course. Tristan was the only one who really didn't notice anything weird going on. He was too busy wondering what he was going to say to Julie besides "Merry Christmas" when he called her tomorrow.

This was going to be a great game, she thought. Seto had silently challenged her and she'd accepted with the barest nod of her head. Setting her drinks down on the table and getting ready to recite the rest of the rules, she went to pull her chair back only to find that it already was with Seto standing in attendance. Surprised pleasure crossed her features at the gentlemanly gesture and she gracefully took her seat as he pushed her chair in. Téa didn't miss the brush of his fingers on her bare upper arm as he took his seat next to her.

Catching the mutt's flashing eyes from across the table, his eyebrow arched high. "She **is** a lady, Wheeler." Turning to Mokuba, who sat to his right, he missed the murderous death glare cast in his direction by golden eyes. A single look was enough to admonish the younger Kaiba into not attacking the slice of cheesecake that sat in front of him. The last thing Seto needed was a sugar high younger brother to deal with. That had been hard enough last Saturday, especially that engineered kiss he'd been forced to share with Wheeler. The memory of it still made him shudder.

'_Tonight promises to be most fascinating, Yugi,' Yami stated, his spirit form floating cross-legged next to Yugi. 'Sitting between Joey and Téa at the end of the table will put us in the centre of the action.' A smile tugged up the corners of his mouth and his deeply violet eyes crinkled at the corners._

'_I just hope that we can keep Joey from killing Kaiba. I have a feeling he won't be too impressed when he finds out about those two and his wasted efforts on "Operation Keep Away".'_ Yugi kept his eye on Joey, watching him fidget in his seat across from Téa. Tristan almost missed his chair for the goofy expression on his face. Too many thoughts of a certain pink-jacketed girl.

"Now that we're all settled, I'll explain the last few rules to the game since we're continuing from before," Téa started to say, beaming a smile at all of her friends gathered around her kitchen table on Christmas Eve. The cheerful Christmas tune, "Jingle Bell Rock", and the feel of Seto's sock-covered toe caressing her ankle had absolutely **nothing** to do with her good mood.

"Are these new rules really hard?" Mokuba asked, a smear of hot chocolate covering his upper lip. This card game was so much better than Duel Monsters. Luck came more into play here since the cards were dealt out randomly. Maybe he could beat Seto and Téa at this game one day. With Megan cheering him on…

"No, they're not hard. You just have to remember them. First, you've all noticed the seating arrangement. The President sits across from the Idiot…"

"Joey, in case no one remembered," Tristan piped up finally coming back to reality with the darkest of blushes staining his cheeks. Téa thought it was thoroughly adorable before continuing on since she had a pretty good idea as to whom he was thinking about.

"… and the Vice sits across from the other Vice. Like I said, this just makes the next rule a little easier to follow. The Idiot deals out the cards and we all arrange our hands to our liking. **But** Joey has to give me his two highest cards and I give him my two lowest. Kaiba gives Tristan one low card and he gets Tristan's highest in return."

"Then it's really hard to get out of the Idiot position, with all of your good cards gone to the President," Mokuba countered, the chocolate moustache more pronounced this time. Téa was right, these weren't hard rules so far.

"Téa's done it b'fore, Mokuba," Joey said, shuffling the two decks that sat near his chocolate cheesecake. "It's only the two highest cards. A couple Christmases ago, Téa was the As… Idiot and she gave Yugi her two Jokers she'd been dealt **but** she'd still had three twos in her hand. She went from Idiot to Prez in one hand."

"Wow, Téa, you must be really good at this game," Mokuba added, talking around the bite of cheesecake in his mouth. At least he didn't spray it all over the table. Seto could have groaned in embarrassment. He thought Mokuba had better manners than that.

Everyone thought the blush on her cheeks was due to Mokuba's praise of her skills. No one knew that Seto's toe had reached a little higher than her ankle. Téa cleared her throat once and took a sip of hot chocolate to cover the flutters she felt in her stomach at his touch, even if it was just his toes. She just knew he was smirking at her. Turning her head a fraction, she saw the silent giggles he was holding inside. If he kept this up, she was in serious trouble of losing her concentration, her train of thought and the game about to be played. Well, she had a few tricks of her own yet to play.

All talk stopped for a moment as Joey dealt out the cards and everyone fiddled with getting their cards in order and getting their pennies ready for the bowl in the centre of the table. Téa scanned her hand, trying to determine which cards she should give Joey. A lonely four and a single seven struck her as being the choice she should make. No point in breaking up the multiples she had. Plus a Joker and a two. Not a bad hand to start out with and it was only going to get better when Joey gave her his cards. Plucking the four and seven out of her hand, she slid them across the table facedown towards Joey. His distressed expression made her smile. 'He must be giving me something good,' she thought as Joey slid two cards her way.

Seto stared at his hand with interest. A pretty good mix of cards, many of them multiples and a couple of twos plus a Joker. Not a bad hand at all. Maybe he would be able to give Téa a run for her money, literally, and win this game. It was all strategy based after all. The only difference between this and Duel Monsters was that he didn't get to choose the cards himself. A single six made its way across the table to Tristan, facedown of course. Tristan sighed once and slid a facedown card to Kaiba. Those were the rules after all. At least it was only one high card.

Yugi watched Téa's reaction to the cards she'd just received and he inwardly groaned. That slight grin meant they were doomed. He'd known her long enough to read even the smallest movements of her face and the fact that she showed even that much emotion during a card game… At least he'd be able to stay a neutral. That was the safest position, especially after that challenge had passed between Kaiba and her. He didn't want to get in the middle of those two when it came down to a card war.

"All right. The exchanges have been done and now it's time to start the game. A couple more things to remember. Since Joey is the Idiot, he starts the game but he also has to rake the cards in once the hand is over. This is very important, now, so pay attention. NO ONE ELSE can touch the cards on the table once they've been played. If you do, you become the new Idiot and you have to switch hands." Téa glanced around the table and saw that everyone was nodding in understanding. Even Mokuba, though he still looked a little unsure. Seto had stopped playing with her ankle under the table as he concentrated on organizing his cards into whatever order he'd needed them in. The quirk of his lips didn't bode well for her. Maybe he was going to beat her this hand. That would be a change. It would be an excuse to play a third hand and determine who held the title for the next year.

Joey scanned his hand and figured that this would be his only shot to play any number of cards, so he drew quickly and tossed out four fours. Téa swore under her breath. She'd given him one of those fours and now he'd played it against her. Seto heard the hiss of breath and knew that she wasn't happy. Maybe now was the most opportune moment to start his little tricks again. After all, if she was already off balance from that little play, a little more and he'd have the game in the bag. His superior strategizing would also need to come out but with the hand he'd been dealt and the addition of Tristan's Joker, he was almost guaranteed to overthrow Téa.

Tristan sighed and threw out four sixes to cover Joey's just played hand. At least he got to play some cards before having to resort to the majority of singles and pairs that he held. The addition of Kaiba's single nine at least had made him another pair that he could hopefully use later. It looked like he and Joey would be fighting it out for Idiot again.

Mokuba scrutinized his hand, peering between it and the eight cards that lay on the table in a small pile. This was going to be a tough game. Seto and Téa would be hard to defeat and then there was the possibility of Yugi joining in the action. What was a youngster supposed to do? He just sighed and threw out four sevens on top of Tristan's sixes. Staying in the neutral position was the best he could hope for since he didn't want to get between the twosome sitting next to each other. He'd seen Seto's eyes smile and that was always a bad sign.

Seto didn't even think about his move. His hand automatically pulled out four Queens as he shot a triumphant grin in Téa's direction. If she was going to win the hand, she needed four higher cards or she needed to use something a little more… powerful. This would tell him exactly what he was up against. Even though it was only the first hand, it was this that determined the rest of the game. Would she be cautious or would she throw it to the wind?

So, that's how he wanted to play. Save his better cards for later, eh? She smirked right back at him, watched him shiver at her look, and put four Kings on top of his carefully laid Queens. She knew exactly when to take a chance and the first hand wasn't the time to take one. If it was a war he wanted, it was a war he would get.

The silence was starting to grate on Joey's nerves, as he got ready to rake cards off to the side. Yugi was next and he was still looking at his cards. Everyone was too quiet, besides eating cheesecake noises, and there was so much tension that a saw couldn't cut it. At least it wasn't a bad tension. There was something else in the air and he didn't know what to label it as. The looks between Kaiba and Téa were the most confusing ones. The other guys were too busy staring at their cards but those two were staring at each other. It was almost like… a challenge was going on. Maybe there was a bet he didn't know about. Maybe Kaiba had bet Téa that if he won, she'd give him whatever information he wanted. But what would Téa get if she won? That was a good question to ponder for a few minutes til it was his turn to play cards, or not.

Poor Joey.

The card game wasn't going to play itself, so Yugi played his one, best card. Nothing else he had in his hand could defeat Téa's four Kings. A single Joker landed on top of the pile of cards and everyone at the table groaned. No one had been expecting that move in the first hand, least of all Kaiba. That meant there were only three Jokers left in the game and Yugi had his suspicions as to who possessed them. It would be a matter of when they were played that determined the winner.

"Well, well, looks like it's about to get interesting," Téa stated, smiling at her best friend. The knowing look she received in return confirmed everything. Yugi knew that the game was now between her and Seto. A battle of the sexes, a test of skill and strategy. Besides, if **he** won, they would have to play best two out of three. Time to turn up the heat and create a bit of a distraction for the stoic CEO. All was fair in love and war and this was a little bit of both.

* * *

I promised everyone an update before I left for vacation and here it is. Scary when it takes me almost 3,000 words to describe the first hand of a card game. Promise I'll be continuing to work on it while I'm gone…

Thanks for everything from everyone who reviews. You don't know how your words touch me…

Aphrael21;)


	13. Twas the Night Before Christmas

**Chapter 13** – 'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Well, folks, we're reaching the end of our little Christmas journey that was begun sometime in 2004 last year. Thanks for staying with this story so far. One more chapter and an epilogue to go after this little card game is completed. Stay tuned for all of the action…

Thanks for being so patient while I was gone on vacation. Had a great time at home and then spent a lot of time with my sister when she flew back here to go Stampeding with me.

Enjoy…

* * *

The second hand of the game had gone rather well, she thought as she contemplated the cards left in her hand, preparing to make her move. Yugi had given Joey and Tristan a break and played a low pair of threes. The sigh of relief from her blonde friend let her know that the gesture had been truly appreciated. Mokuba still seemed a little nervous when playing cards. His hand had been shaking quite badly when he'd thrown out a pair of tens to top Tristan's nines. Seto, on the other hand, had been shaken up for other reasons. Téa hadn't been able to stop herself from throwing a little diversion in his direction. It hadn't taken much to do it, either. Just a little rubbing of her toes across the top of his foot under the table. That must have been a very sensitive spot as she watched the tips of his ears turn a most delicate shade of maroon. Almost a perfect match for the silk pyjamas he wore. 

Unfortunately, it hadn't been enough of a diversion to make him play a stupid (high) card. Instead, he was still trying to see if she'd play one first. A pair of Kings had joined the small pile of cards in the centre of the table. If he expected her to roll over and throw the game, he had another thing coming. Two Aces finished the set and Joey raked the hand off to the side to be sorted later. She was going to have to resort to more drastic measures to take his mind off the game at hand. A little strategy never hurt either.

"Nice move, Gardner. Got anything in that hand to back it up?" Seto's whiskey voiced drawl just made her want to crawl into his lap and give him a long, slow kiss that he would never forget but with Joey still being a little too attentive to her and Tristan just being completely oblivious, that would never happen. Focus, Téa, she reprimanded herself and then threw him a smirk.

"Think I've got nothing to keep me going? Think I'm **desperate**, do you?" Yugi noticed the similarity between her smirk and Kaiba's and found it… comforting that his best friend could hold her own against someone like Kaiba. Téa wasn't the type to back down from a challenge and this one was turning out to be especially rewarding.

"If the shoe fits…" Seto could hardly contain himself. Playing cards for anything but his reputation hadn't happened in quite some time and to his surprise, he was thoroughly enjoying the test of besting Téa at this 'Idiot' game. There were no stakes involved here. No world to save, no company to save, no little brother to worry about. Just a group of teenagers having fun the night before Christmas, one of whom he was getting seriously head over heels about.

"Whatever, Se…Kaiba. Trash talking will get you nowhere. I'm not the Queen of this game for no reason, remember." She boldly met his blue eyes and almost burst out laughing at the look she encountered. Seto Kaiba, recently dethroned ice-god, was having a good time. A really good time, even with Yugi, Joey and Tristan around. This was seriously one for the record books.

Téa was just about to select her next hand to throw down when Mokuba looked up from his plate of almost finished cheesecake and stared at Seto for a second. The biggest grin split across his face and every eye at the table immediately swung in his direction. The brightness was dazzling. A small sun at the other end of the table, with hot chocolate and cheesecake crumbs all over his upper lip.

"Hey, Seto? I was just thinking…" Mokuba started and it was then that Seto noticed the empty plate of cheesecake and half-finished mug of hot chocolate. At least he wasn't talking with his mouth full this time. There was another problem however. The wide pupils and vibrating body told him a lot more than he really wanted to handle.

The sugar high had begun.

"What is it, Mokuba?" He couldn't hide the inclination to strangle his little brother. The silent message he'd given him earlier should have kept him from inhaling the dessert in four bites. Too late now. This was exactly what he didn't need on top of everything else – the beginnings of Téa's strategies to keep him hot and bothered (not that just sitting next to her wasn't having the same effect) – having to play cards with Dumb and Dumber (although it wasn't as bad as he'd thought) – suffering in silence under Yugi and Mokuba's knowing looks (although **how** much Yugi knew was still an up in the air question). Seto Kaiba, normally calm, cool and in control was feeling a little "out of sorts".

"Well, if Téa is the Queen of this game and if you beat her, then that means that you become the King…" Mokuba's grin was positively face splitting by this point. Here it comes, Seto thought. Crazy thoughts came out of Mokuba when he was on a sugar high. Last weekend's mistletoe kiss was the prime example of that. So was his surprise visit to his home office when he'd caught them unawares. What was he going to come up with this time?

"That's right, Mokuba…" Seto prodded the boy along, wanting to get the thought out of his little brother as fast as possible. The sooner it was over with, the sooner they could get back to playing and he could return his attention to the gorgeous girl next to him, his only true competition.

"So, in a sense, you'd be King of Idiots until someone took your title away." Mokuba looked innocently up at his older brother, pupils so wide it was impossible to tell what colour his eyes really were. Téa's cheesecake had been good while it lasted.

Silence engulfed the table at Mokuba's comment. It took a moment for everyone to digest the exact meaning of it but when they did, the table erupted into peals of laughter. Joey laughed so hard that he began to snort as he held his sides, picturing Kaiba sitting on a throne, dented brass crown perched precariously to one side of his head as he waved around a tin sceptre topped with a quartet of playing cards.

Tristan looked over at a scandalized Kaiba and started to point a finger in his direction, mouth opening between howls of laughter, to add his own comment to Mokuba's announcement before he thought better of it. Not only would it be wrong and rude to insult him further but also there was the distinct possibility of Kaiba kicking the crap out of him, Christmas holiday or not. Calling Julie on Christmas morning and trying to talk through missing front teeth didn't sound romantic in the slightest. Shrugging his shoulders once, he folded his hand back up and banged it on the table instead of provoking Kaiba further. Mokuba really didn't need his help there anyways.

Yugi and Yami shared an amused gaze before identical grins lit up their features and boisterous laughter bubbled forth. Neither of them could have stopped it. Kaiba had been trying for so long to gain the title "King of Games" that Mokuba's statement just added another ironic level to the card game they were involved in. Yami's deep laugh rolled over Yugi and his grin became just that much wider to see the Spirit having such a good time. It was nice to finally have some time away from defending the world from the various and sundry maniacs that kept trying to take it over and/or destroy it. Nothing could have made the night better.

Téa bit her lip in an attempt to hold her own laughter in at Mokuba's pronouncement. If she laughed, what would Seto think? She'd done a lot of things to him over the last few years. She'd yelled, screamed, and gotten mad at him. She'd liked, kissed and touched him, too, but laughing **_at_** him was a whole other ballgame. What would happen to their fledgling relationship if she laughed at him? Glancing over at him, lips still tightly pressed together, she was surprised. The shine in his eyes from holding in his own laughter was incomprehensible and her lips formed an "O" in shock but no sound came forth at all.

Mokuba was the only one that had ever been able to catch him so completely off guard. He'd been doing it for as long as Seto could remember. It was never maliciously intended (although he could argue about the blue dish soap incident) and it was always done with the insight only a sibling could have. It was only natural then to applaud Mokuba's skill and give in to his urge to laugh. A deep rumble of mirth set his shoulders shaking as his mouth opened and the unexpected sound issued forth.

Silence ruled the table once more as everyone looked shocked at the emotional display Kaiba was putting on. No glittering, stony eyes or unamused smirk.

Seto Kaiba, for the first time in their living memories, was laughing.

At himself.

* * *

The hilarity of the whole situation changed the atmosphere of the entire room as, moments later, a few more chuckles echoed through the kitchen when Téa finally played her next hand. 

"Read 'em and weep, boys," she declared as five eights made their debut in the centre of the kitchen table. Groans from all around told her that no one had been expecting such a big hand to be played so early in the game. She'd learned a long time ago to always change her strategy. If they started to anticipate her moves, it was time to change them.

"Great play, Téa. You've already played out over half your hand," Yugi commented as he deliberated over the cards still clasped in his own hand. "At least I can beat it."

Yugi gently placed five Jacks over her eights as Joey and Tristan each contributed the required five pennies into the bowl in the centre of the table. With miserable looks on their faces, they leaned back and scanned the others around the table. They had nothing else to occupy their attention until Kaiba paid or played, depending on Mokuba's next move that was. Neither of them missed the heated glance she sent to her Vice President.

"Still think I'm desperate, Kaiba?" she asked, her eyebrow arched up at him, much as he usually did to her. She didn't miss the look in his eyes, as if he was still laughing, as she turned up the heat once more.

Stiffening in his chair, Seto felt something touch his leg tentatively. Still peering at the only person that could be responsible for the flash of heat across his skin, he saw that twinkle in her eye that could fool the Devil himself into thinking she was innocent and sweet. He had evidence to prove otherwise. She was a mischievous girl. She was definitely up to something wicked. Seto watched her shoulder give the slightest hitch up and down. Yet more evidence to prove she was just as provocative as she was innocent. That little move dislodged the thin strap of her tank top to fall gracefully down her upper arm. She kept her eyes on him as she reached over with her free hand to push it back where it belonged. How he wished it were his hand moving across that soft, creamy skin. Memories of the other day in his office flew through his mind and he recalled just how sensuous an experience that had been.

She didn't miss the low-throated growl of need from the Vice President sitting next to her. Fortunately, everyone else did. Just knowing that she could affect him like that made her skin tingle and her smile grow wider. If only he knew what he did to her. Mere inches separated them and she was surprised that he couldn't feel the heat pouring off her as a reaction to his presence.

Yami gave a soft whistle at Téa's diversionary play before he whispered to Yugi. _'Did you see that move? I would not want to face her in a duel were I in Kaiba's position. I am surprised that he has not found a way to get her alone yet, what with the intensity I have seen between them. Kaiba seems ready to explode and Téa, I fear, is not much better off.'_

_'I know but you have to admit, it's fun watching the two of them battle it out. I hope that Téa wins, though, or Kaiba will be insufferable in his gloating at having managed to do something none of us have ever done.' _

Mokuba watched those two with great interest as he pretended to stare at the cards in his hand. He already knew what he was going to play but he wanted to see those two play off each other. Seto was usually so reserved and unemotional that it was a nice change to see him happy enough to laugh at what Mokuba had said. Everything had changed after that and he saw the muscles in his big brother's shoulders relax for the first time in a long time. The sparks had started to fly a minute ago when Téa pulled her pyjama strap up but he didn't really understand why Seto had liked that move so much. Maybe he'd ask him to explain it sometime.

"Your move, Mokuba," Tristan said, breaking the younger Kaiba's reverie by startling him back to the here and now. The game had to be moved along. The faster he got to bed, the faster he could dream about Julie and what he would say to her in the morning when he called. That was really the only thought consuming him right at that moment, that and maybe getting another slice of cheesecake.

"Sorry, just thinking about what cards to play." Mokuba pulled out three twos and tossed them onto the table to take the hand.

Or so he thought.

"Good move, little brother, but I can top that," Seto said, pulling a single card out and placing it over the three twos. A single Joker, the highest card in the game, seemed to be grinning maniacally at the younger brother. That was twice his victory had been snatched away from him. A long, drawn out sigh escaped him as Seto smiled fiercely. The win was almost his. Four hands or less and he could claim the title of President. What a sweet win it would be, too.

The cards were raked to the side and Seto enjoyed a moment of pride before he played the fourth hand of the game. An easy hand that would maybe rattle Téa and have her wondering what he was up to. He needed a way to pay her back for her little manoeuvre earlier as well. Eyeing his mug of hot chocolate, he knew exactly what to do.

"Great play, Mokuba. Too bad your brother is always a step ahead of you. I may have to take him down a notch or three before this game is over," Téa stated, noticing the resigned look in Mokuba's eyes. When Seto played, it was for keeps. No letting Mokuba win just because he was younger. Then again, that wouldn't help Mokuba at all. He needed to learn how to strategize to beat his brother, although the outburst he'd had earlier had been a stroke of sheer brilliance on his part. Why should he even try to beat Seto at cards when it was so much easier to do what he was good at – be his little brother.

"**You** are going to take **me** down a notch? We'll see. I wasn't the Duel Monsters champion for backing down from a challenge. But I'll go easy on you this hand. I'll play something that even the Idiot and his Vice can match." Seto tossed down a pair of threes, much to the delight of everyone except Téa.

"C'mon, Téa, show him what a card shark you are," Tristan stated, readying the highest pair he had in his hand. There was no way he was going to pass up the chance to play cards. Maybe Mokuba wouldn't be able to make a move, which would leave him free to start the next hand.

"Yeah, Téa, show him de reason none of us have been able to take ya down in de last few years." Joey eyed his hand and picked the highest pair he had available to him. Maybe he'd get to start the next hand. And if not, he looked morosely at his plate of non-existent cheesecake, he could always wrangle another slice of heaven from the fridge.

What was he planning with that hand? Didn't he have anything higher he could have played? Why was he playing **low** cards when the object of the game was to get rid of your hand as fast as possible? Maybe that Joker had been the only high card in his hand and he was bluffing as to what else he had. She shrugged her shoulders and put two nines down over his threes. "Haven't got anything better to play? That's a pretty low move. If you keep playing like that, you're going to stay in the Vice President position until the next time we play." That smirk should have warned her something was coming. Something big. Huge. Gigantic. Ginormous, even though that wasn't a real word should have been just to describe the look on his face! He looked like the cat that just got the cream.

Or in this case, the hot chocolate.

His mouth fascinated Téa. He remembered her mentioning that in his office that afternoon they'd been caught by Mokuba. The only reason he remembered that was the naughty look in her eyes just before she'd whispered it in his ear. Now he was going to play it to his advantage, much as he'd played the low hand. His fingers curled around the handle of the mug and he brought it up to his lips, noticing that he had her complete, albeit covert, concentration focussed on him. He watched her gulp once, her throat rising slightly at the movement. Oh yes, this had been a grand idea.

Taking a sip of the sweet liquid within, he closed his eyes, tilted his head back slightly and swallowed, sighing soundlessly in the process before he set the mug back down on the table. He could tell her mind wasn't currently on the hand that Yugi had just played (a pair of tens) but completely on him. Now, it was time for the final move of his strategy.

Joey played his two Jacks, the highest pair he had, over Yugi's tens before turning to Tristan, intent on asking him if he wanted another slice of Téa's infamous cheesecake after he played his hand, when something strange caught his eye. He saw something that shouldn't have been conceivably possible. Something that rattled every warning nerve in his body.

Téa was blushing.

Over what, he had no idea, although he noticed that her downcast eyes weren't focussed on her cards. Rather, off to the side, he thought. Towards Kaiba. What the hell had he done to her now? The snake hadn't said anything to her to make her react like that, besides the trash talking. But Joey expected that from Kaiba. He was always doing it, no matter who his opponent was. That alone shouldn't have been enough to bring such a weird shade of red to her cheeks.

'Something fishy is goin' on between dose two,' he thought, watching the elder Kaiba's eyes gleam in uncharacteristic warmth. Shrugging his shoulders, he turned back to Tristan to ask him the cheesecake question. There would be time enough later to ask Téa what was going on and if Kaiba were still harassing her. He wouldn't try anything with a room full of witnesses.

Téa willed her heart to stop its frenzied beating as the urge to fan herself with her cards almost overwhelmed her senses. She still couldn't believe he'd done that to her, in the middle of a card game with her friends surrounding them both. Thank God, Joey had been too self-absorbed in what he was asking Tristan to have noticed Seto's latest ploy.

It had been a simple thing, really. Any other person would have assumed it was a natural reaction to drinking something. Mokuba had done it moments before, just after his announcement, and no one had done anything. It wasn't an illegal move but it was one that Seto had stolen from her. She'd used it on him during the decorating party. Maybe he was of the same mind that all was fair in love and war.

She closed her eyes and played the images back again to make sure she wasn't mistaken.

She wasn't.

Seto Kaiba had licked hot chocolate foam from his upper lip.

The move itself hadn't affected her. Well, okay, beyond a flush to her cheeks and a tripling of her heart rate, it hadn't done much to her. It was the **way** he had done it that had sent her mind spinning in all sorts of erotic directions. The slow, sensuous slide of his tongue across an upper lip that she knew was soft tempted her to no end to throw down her cards and to tackle the guy sitting next to her in an attempt to find out how he tasted when covered with chocolate. Only Yugi's delicate cough from her left side had kept her from going through with it. She'd bitten her lip with enough force to draw her out of her personal fantasy and back to the card game at hand with only one thought left.

Beat him at this game of teasing mercilessly.

She had one trick left and it was a doozie. If he recovered from it and still managed to win the game, he was not a red-blooded male – he was a snake.

* * *

I just had to leave this chapter here. It's taken me a long time to get to this point and I apologize for the huge wait for it. I'll be starting the next chapter tonight but it may take a few days to work through all of the details. I have it all planned out, I just need to write it.

Thanks for everything. To my wonderful reviewers, you are the best in the world. To my shadow readers, you are also the best in the world. Thanks for reading this story and I hope to post more in the near future.

As always, I am…

Aphrael21;)


	14. The Grand Finale

**Chapter 14 **– The Grand Finale

Welcome everyone to the not-so-final chapter of **_Christmas Chaos_**. It's been so much fun writing this that it's hard to say good-bye. I have to tell you all that I lied. Again, my verbosity has amazed and surprised me. Hopefully no one is too upset that I have another chapter left to write for this story. Maybe even an epilogue. Depends on the weather, I guess. It's been so sunny here the last few days that I'm finding it hard to stay inside and write. Oh well, read on and enjoy. It should be a long, fun-filled ride.

Side Note: I have found my magic pencil! I brought it home with me on vacation and just found it as I started writing this chapter. That's why the last chapter took so long… I didn't have the right writing equipment.

I've also listed the complete rules for A-hole on my bio page so if you're still a little confused as to how the game was played, the rules there should explain it better.

* * *

Tristan nodded enthusiastically at Joey's amazingly psychic question about more cheesecake. 'Great minds think alike,' he figured, but first he had to play his hand. This was probably the last chance he had to play any more cards so he was going to take full advantage of it. Unless Mokuba had nothing in his hand to beat him – that would give him a reprieve and maybe let him move up to neutral status instead of duking it out with Joey over who was Idiot of the Year. If not, well, Téa would still take over her title once more. That's the way it always happened and the addition of Kaiba and Mokuba to the game hadn't really changed anything. He'd already resigned himself to having the game wind down to him and Joey playing singles against each other.

Tristan never even noticed the slight frown on Joey's face when the cheesecake question was asked.

He set down his pair of Queens over Joey's Jacks and asked, "All right, who's up for more of Téa's scrumptious cheesecake? I have a weird feeling that I won't get to play any more cards so I might as well do something useful."

"That sounds like a **great** idea, Tristan!" Mokuba exclaimed. "Do you want some help? I'll help you get the cheesecake. I don't mind at all. In fact, I think I will help you because Téa's cheesecake is awesome and I really, **_really_** want another slice."

Joey looked at the younger Kaiba and noticed the same look in his eyes as he himself got when there was a gallon of Heavenly Hash ice cream in his stomach. There was no way he was letting Mokuba near a knife in the state he was in. Kaiba would kill them all if Mokuba so much as got a little finger dirty let alone took a slice out of it. "No, no, Mokuba. Yer a guest here an' guests don't help wit' anyting. Tristan an' I will get de cheesecake. Besides, you still hafta play your hand out over Tristan's. Can't beat 'em if you don't play 'em." The crestfallen eyes Joey had endured at the beginning of his announcement turned quickly to eyes of joy as his mind moved a hundred miles an hour away from cheesecake back to the game at hand.

"All right, Joey, but I still get to help with clean up tomorrow, right? Since Téa won the snowball fight, she said that we have to clean everything tomorrow from the dishes to the wrapping paper, right?" Mokuba's voice was so high-pitched at this point, that Seto thought maybe he shouldn't have any more cheesecake. Then again, it **was** Christmas and Mokuba rarely got to indulge in treats with friends. What was he thinking? Somehow, everyone at the table had assumed a new post in his life – no longer the annoying brat pack or the nerd herd, he now thought of them as friends. He could only blame it on the Christmas spirit and the girl sitting next to him. If they hadn't gotten involved, none of this would have happened.

Funny thing was, he didn't seem to mind at all.

"Sure ting, Mokuba," Joey replied with a grin, getting up from the table with only a minimum of scraping from his chair. Tristan joined him and he headed for the fridge where the precious, sugary goodness of cheesecake was being held safe. Popping open the door, Tristan carefully reached in to pull out the plate it rested on as Joey collected their plates from the table.

"Guess it's still my turn," Mokuba said, looking around at everyone at the table. At least Seto couldn't win this hand since he'd started it. Putting down two Kings, Mokuba smiled triumphantly and his brother couldn't help but smile back at the innocent happiness his eyes showed.

"Anyone besides me, Tris and Mokuba want cheesecake?" Joey inquired, ready to pick up more plates for those still wanting to taste something chocolaty before bed. While the others deliberated, he raked the hand off to the side. It would have been nice if someone else had touched the cards but he really wanted to see the game through to its proper end without the crazy switching involved.

Téa proffered her plate to Joey with a smile. She made it so she might as well enjoy it before Joey finished it during his midnight snack run. She doubted that last weekend's lasagna had even seen the inside of the fridge before it was demolished. Joey returned her smile with one of his own and she giggled at the tongue that waggled out at her.

"What about you, Yug? You up for a little more of the good stuff?" Joey asked, watching his best friend eye his plate in serious contemplation.

"_We should, Yugi. It is the Christmas season. And this cake made from cheese was exquisite. Make sure you mention that to Téa when you have an opportunity." Yami smiled wistfully at the girl sitting next to him. If only… but she was better suited with Kaiba anyways. Any fool could see the electric intensity between those two._

"_Okay, Yami. Another slice it is. Big or little?" Yugi asked, easily drawing the Spirit out of his pensive mood. It wasn't good to dwell on maybes or ifs. The possibilities were endless for things that never were._

"Sure, Joey, and make it an extra big slice. The Pharaoh thought the cheesecake was exquisite, Téa." The grin he got in return, including a slight flush to her cheeks, made the whole experience worthwhile. Yami beamed in joy. What a wonderful time this Christmas was. Even Kaiba looked to be enjoying himself.

"I'm glad you liked it," she said, that winning smile still hovering on her lips as she felt Seto press his calf against hers under the table. The game was on hiatus for the moment while the cheesecake was being dealt out and he was taking a big chance with Joey standing not three feet away from them both. He couldn't lose the momentum he'd built with that little move he'd performed earlier. Seto had to try his best to keep her off balance if he had any hope at all of winning the game. But with one Joker left in his hand…

"What about you, Kaiba? You up fer anotha slice?" Joey's tone was friendly and jovial, much as he'd use with Tristan or anyone else in their little group. It was a sign that he was still holding to the truce that had been concluded in her hallway only an hour and a half before.

"I don't think…" Seto started to say before Yugi interrupted him. Turning to face the shorter Duellist next to Téa, and consequently getting to watch her shudder as his leg pressed in closer, he saw the knowing gleam in his violet eyes.

"C'mon, Kaiba. It's the Christmas season. Now is the perfect time to… indulge in sweet treats," Yugi stated and got the shock of his life once more.

Kaiba was blushing.

Only the faintest of pinks but there it was. He'd taken Yugi's statement at more than face value and gotten exactly what Yugi had meant him to understand.

He knew what was going on between him and Téa. The smug look and casual voice told Seto **volumes**. He smiled then, the corners of his mouth quirking up as he turned back to Joey and replied, "All right. Another slice it is. And make mine bigger than Yugi's."

* * *

"All right, Mokuba. It's still yer turn. Play yer hand an' let's get this show on de road," Joey exclaimed, sitting himself down at the table once more. Plates of cheesecake had been passed around and the action had stopped as everyone took a first bite to savour the goodness once more. He still couldn't believe that Kaiba, of all people, had wanted a **huge** slice of dessert. Normally, he was so reserved and icy that Joey wouldn't have even attempted asking him if he wanted it, yet something had prodded him to do it. Whether it was the Christmas spirit or some unknown psychic force, he didn't know.

There was still something fishy going on between him and Téa but he was starting to realize that it wasn't wicked in any way. If Kaiba truly were harassing her, she wouldn't have invited him to this party. Mokuba, sure, but not the eldest Kaiba if he were being as malevolent as Joey thought. Shrugging his shoulders and blowing a stray piece of hair out of his eyes, he focussed on the younger of the two Kaibas and watched him make his play.

"Okay, Joey. You asked for it," Mokuba replied gleefully. Choosing carefully, he set his hand out on the table.

Four Aces.

Mutters from around the table complained about the number of cards in the hand. Another completely unexpected move.

Where had he been hiding that? No matter, Seto had just the card to beat it. No one else even stood a chance of playing a card as he threw out his last Joker. It was time to take control of the game and finally get his victory over Téa. There was no way she could beat him now with what he had left in his hand.

"AWW man!" Joey's loud outburst echoed everyone else's somewhat quieter exclamations of outrage at the play. The plink of pennies into the bowl was continuous for a moment as Téa, Yugi, Joey and Tristan made their contributions. Kaiba just smirked smugly as he felt her foot give him a more-than-gentle kick under the table. It was the least she could do to him, until that is, she put her last trick into action…

Now…

"You shouldn't have done that," Tristan murmured just loud enough for Kaiba to hear. From his vantage point across the table, he saw the feral light gleaming in Téa's eyes as Joey swept aside the five cards. That made three Jokers out of four that had been played. He wondered if Kaiba were keeping track.

"What do you mean by that, Taylor?" Seto queried. How could anything possibly go wrong? True, there was one Joker left and he **knew** who had it but he still had a couple of twos to counter whatever was thrown his way. There was no way anyone could beat him in the next couple of hands. As long as he played his cards right, that is.

Too bad Téa was just starting to implement her final act of unmerciful teasing upon a poor, unsuspecting Seto Kaiba.

Crash, bang.

"Oops," Téa said, unable to keep the smile from her lips as the fork from her dessert plate hit the ground between her and Seto and bounced. Perfect landing, too. Right where she'd wanted it. As close to him as possible.

'Here it comes,' Yugi thought and heard the Pharaoh murmur in agreement. He'd seen the same light in her eyes as Tristan but he knew exactly how it was to be interpreted.

"What happened, Téa?" Joey asked, watching her turn in her seat and start to bend down to reach the floor.

"Nothing much. I just dropped my fork," she replied before bending below the edge of the table. The fork lay right under Seto's foot, which was hooked in the spindle under the chair. She couldn't have planned it better herself. Everything was going so well for her tonight. Everything. Joey and Kaiba were in truce mode, she'd won the snowball fight, she was about to win the card game and Seto was going to learn not to mess with her when it came to a regular deck of cards. She'd take him on anywhere, anytime.

"Three hands and she's done, Kaiba. You've just sealed yourself into the Vice Presidency. No way you're gonna win now," Tristan replied, meeting eyes with Kaiba and seeing them widen in incredulity. It wasn't only Tristan's words that made his eyes go so wide.

Téa Gardner was, for lack of a better phrase, feeling him up.

Well, okay not really. But close enough. With an extraordinary amount of self-control and willpower, he stopped the rush of red to his cheeks as he felt her greedy, little fingers splay across his thigh to balance herself. Not near his knee either. More towards his hip and consequently very close to certain parts of his anatomy that were rather delicate and sensitive to such close brushes. Her eyes as she went down were cunning and mischievous to an infinite degree and it almost broke through his resolve to wait until later to claim her lips once more. It was hard, though, very hard to feel her heat through the thin silk of his pyjamas and not be able to do anything about it.

Her hand reached under Seto's foot and moved to grasp the fork from where it lay when it occurred to her that Seto was completely helpless while she was down here. He couldn't do anything lest he spoil the secret the two of them had managed to keep for the last little while. He was only wearing socks, too, no slippers to deal with. Perfect. Moving her fingers, she proceeded to gently slide them up and then down the bottom of his foot. It wasn't just the tops of his feet that were sensitive, either, as she watched them try to wiggle out of her way.

"Come on, Kaiba. It's your move. We're waiting." Yugi watched Kaiba's cheeks puff out slightly as he held in what appeared to be a guffaw of laughter. What was Téa doing to him down there?

"Yeah, Kaiba, what's de hold up?" Joey chimed in, restlessly tapping the table with the tips of his fingers.

A couple of things happened at once right then.

One – Téa was finally coming back up to rejoin them at the table but, unable to resist a helpless Kaiba, she softly blew a warm breath of air across his midsection and watched in satisfaction as he shuddered, muscles rippling under the thin silk.

Two – That little shudder cost him the game as a couple of fives tumbled out of his hand onto the table. Kaiba saved himself quickly by adding the other four fives from his hand and tossing them out onto the table.

Six fives stared at everyone at the table and Kaiba was left holding only two cards. Thank God they were too busy staring at the cards and counting out pennies to take a really close look at his face.

Putting her fork back on her almost empty dessert plate, she caught Seto's sidelong look of pure, unadulterated lust mixed with the tiniest bit of longing to sweep everything off the table and throw her down on top of it right then and there. She was so in trouble later on.

And she couldn't wait to face the consequences of her actions.

But for now, she had a card game to win. Seto had just given her the perfect opening. Well, anything he played would have given her the same opening.

"Thanks, Kaiba," Téa said brightly and proceeded with her final three hands for the game in short order.

First, the final Joker of the game made its appearance over top of his six fives. The pennies had already been put into the bowl in anticipation of that move so Joey quickly raked that hand aside to make way for the next. There was no stopping her now.

Second, three twos were tossed out nonchalantly and she looked around the table as another round of pennies made it into the bowl.

"I guess no one can top that," she purred and threw out her final hand. A pair of threes. "I win. I guess I get to stay Queen for another year. Better luck next year, boys." Groans of good-natured frustration and the pinging of pennies into a bowl echoed around the room for a moment before Yugi played a pair of fours to continue on with the game. He had a feeling that Kaiba was about to take them all down again and stay in his Vice Presidency.

Who knew that Taylor would be so on the mark? For all of his goofy looks and that crazy hair-do, he had been pretty accurate when he forecast that Téa would be out in three hands. Seto thought he'd been bluffing and now that he looked back on it, she would have won no matter what he'd played first, whether it was the fives or the twos. The Joker that he'd so eagerly dismissed had come back to bite him in the ass. Her little play under the table had just kept him hot under the collar.

Watching the game proceed, Téa needed a little break from being so close to so hot a CEO. The tension between them had risen astronomically with that final ploy and if she didn't get away, she was afraid of what she would do to him in front of her friends and his little brother. Pushing back her chair and picking up her plate, she moved to the sink and started to ready the dishes piled there for a quick cleaning before bed.

Seto kept a close scrutiny of her as she came back to the table, presumably for more plates. Her hips swished back and forth, driving him crazy for wanting to touch her, to feel her creamy skin under his fingers, to feel the press of her lips on his. Walking behind his chair, he lost sight of her and his heart plummeted for some strange reason before soaring again as he felt the ghostly brush of her fingers across the muscles of his shoulder blades.

"Kaiba? You okay?" Joey asked. He'd seen the blue of his eyes change in the last couple of seconds and a hitch of breath that made him wonder if he was about to start choking on a crumb of cheesecake. "Kaiba?"

Clearing his throat, Seto tossed out a single two to take that hand and waited til Joey had raked it aside before throwing out his final two and ending his participation in the game. Picking up his own plate, which she'd purposefully left there while she picked up Mokuba's and Tristan's, he joined her at the counter by the sink. The noise of water pouring in, plus the gentle rumble of renewed conversation around the table, should cover anything they might say to each other provided there was no shouting involved. Plunking the plates in the slowly filling basin, he waited for her to retrieve Joey and Yugi's plates as well before he said anything to her. No interruptions.

"You sneaky, underhanded, conniving little minx…" was all he could get out before he chuckled at the taunting look in her azure eyes. Hip-checking Seto out of her way, she placed the dishes she carried into the sink before replying to his view of her.

"You brought it all on yourself, **Kaiba**, when you challenged me before the game even started. And what was with your little move, huh? That just about pushed me over the edge. If I hadn't wanted to win so badly, you would have succeeded in distracting me to no end. Bravo," she praised, the dishcloth in her hands washing plates without her being completely conscious of the move.

"You liked that little move, huh? I remembered you using it on me on Saturday, during dinner. Just wait til I get you alone and then you'll see exactly how _distracting_ I can be," he purred, loving the flush that appeared so magically on her cheeks.

Oh my.

* * *

Yay! Another chapter is done and there should only be one more to go. But then again, it seems that I have this habit of lying to people. I distinctly recall that the snowball fight was only supposed to be one chapter that somehow, magically, became four.

Just a small note of good news. This chapter was written so quickly for two reasons: 1) I found my magical mechanical pencil that had been missing before I went on vacation. And 2) my Dad's cancer has gone into remission. Joy! Cheer! Hurrah!

Thanks to everyone who reads my stories. Your words have been my bread and butter for a while. If you don't want me to starve, make sure you leave a review for me to munch on.

As always, I am…

Aphrael21;)


	15. Not So Secret Anymore

**Chapter 15 – Not So Secret Anymore**

Yes, I'm back and this is the final chapter (I hope!) for Christmas Chaos. Let's see what fireworks, of all kinds, are in store for our favourite couple…

* * *

The dishes had been washed, dried and put away in short order by the dynamic duo of Téa and Seto as the game continued behind their backs at the kitchen table. No one even noticed that the great Seto Kaiba, hotshot executive, had used a dishtowel to dry their dishes. Correction, they noticed but with the game still on going, the idea hadn't quite been 'processed' yet that Kaiba had done actual, physical labour. Amidst much laughter and groaning, it was finally down to Joey and Tristan again playing it out for the 'coveted' position of 'Idiot'. Yugi and Mokuba cheered them both on as the battle of the single cards came down to a final hand.

"I got two cards left and I think I know exactly how to make you stay in your spot for another year," Tristan exclaimed, eyeing the one card left in Joey's hand and making a pretty good guess as to which card it was. Playing out a single ten and seeing Joey's face fall to the floor, Tristan knew he'd picked the right card.

Joey swept the one card off to the side and watched in horror as the final card, a seven of Hearts, sealed his fate. "Aww, man, not AGAIN!" With a tremendous sigh, Joey Wheeler was once more confirmed as the Idiot for the Year.

Everyone laughed then, even poor Joey, as he threw down his final card on the table, a single four. Joey's boisterous laughter finally made it down to a sheepish grin as he began the tedious process of separating the two decks into their original formations. Téa wouldn't be too pleased if she saw him just shove the cards haphazardly into her little junk drawer. She was a stickler for neatness and organization and he still had the bruise to prove it from where she'd hit him on Monday at the mall.

With a glance at his platinum watch, Seto saw that it was just after 9 o'clock. Almost bedtime. Then it would be at least another agonizing hour or two until he deemed it safe enough for him to venture upstairs for a little cuddle time with Téa. He snorted to himself. If the world ever found out that the word 'cuddle' existed in his mind, he'd be ruined. She'd turned him into a softie. If only her little friends weren't around, Seto could take her into his arms and pretend there was still mistletoe above them as he kissed her into an oblivion so deep that her only thoughts would be about him and the only name on her lips, his…

Téa also noticed what time it was and with a satisfyingly cheerful "Woohoo!", she called to everyone else in the room, "Shoot, guys, we're going to miss the rest of the show. Joey, forget the cards. It's **time**!"

"Oh no, we missed the first couple of minutes!" Yugi exclaimed, almost knocking over Joey in his haste to get out of his chair.

"We'd betta hurry, den!" Joey shouted, grabbing Tristan's collar and physically hauling him out of his chair. A rasping Tristan gasped for air as the four started to head towards the stairs leading to the basement, a confused Mokuba and puzzled Kaiba trailing only slightly behind. What could have the four teenagers in such a tizzy?

"What's going on, Seto?" Mokuba asked, turning his confused eyes on an equally bewildered older brother. By the sounds of excitement, it wasn't anything bad. On the contrary, it really sounded like something he wanted to be a part of, kind of like the snowball fight. But it was something to watch. On TV.

"Your guess is as good as mine, Mokuba," Seto answered quite truthfully. He'd never seen the four of them behave so childishly. Granted, he expected it from the mutt and the retriever but Yugi? And Téa? "Just go with it, kid."

* * *

The next hour was spent watching "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Frosty the Snowman" amidst boisterous laughter, bouts of off-key sing-alongs and copious amounts of pop. Mokuba thoroughly enjoyed himself as he danced and sang around the sleeping bags laid out on the floor, the sugar taking him to new heights of exuberance, before he came to rest by Seto's legs and tried to keep his eyes open for the last fifteen minutes of the last show. Seto himself had sat in the only armchair, a great hulking beast of a chair dressed in beige suede that was more comfortable than it actually looked, and watched Téa and company jostle for seats on the matching couch. One of them had to sit on the floor and it was down to a wrestling match between Joey and Tristan over who got the last seat. Téa and Yugi had just giggled at their spontaneous sparring match as she turned the TV on and turned up the volume to cover the various and non-descript moans and groans. At least she'd managed to get the end of the couch so he could have the pleasure of watching her covertly and pretending he was still interested in whatever inane Christmas show came on.

All in all, it had been quite an entertaining evening.

From the first moment he'd walked in the door and gotten jealous of Yugi, through the insults and the snowball fights and especially the card games, he realized one very important thing…

Seto Kaiba hadn't thought about work, KaibaCorp., computer code, Duel Monsters or anything else he had considered relevant for the entire time.

All of his thoughts were, and had been, focussed on the gorgeous, azure-eyed brunette as she stood up, remote in hand, and turned the TV off just as the final credits of "Frosty" rolled across the screen. "All right, it's time for bed. We need to be asleep before Santa comes to deliver our presents. Hope everyone's been very _good_ this year." Her smoky stare in his direction almost set the fire alarms off. Yes, he'd been very good this year. He was going to prove that to her, one way or another.

"But Téa…" Joey started and the whine in his voice was clearly audible. "It's **only** 10 o'clock…"

"Joey, we have the same argument every time we do this. We always watch "Rudolph" and "Frosty" and then it's time to brush our teeth and go to sleep. Besides, you should all be well rested to get ready for your clean-up duties tomorrow. And don't think that the excuse "I'm tired" will get you out of it." The sternness of her voice brooked no argument and Seto was impressed that with only a moan and a groan, Joey got up from the floor and headed off for the bathroom for the requisite cleansing of his teeth.

Mokuba stirred only a little and smacked his lips once or twice as Seto gently picked him up and settled him into the sleeping bag next to his own. How his brother slept with the noise and talking going on around him was still a mystery as he pulled the edge of the sleeping bag over his shoulder and tucked it in. Téa saw the tenderness in his eyes as he brushed a stray tendril of hair from Mokuba's mouth and heard a whispered "Sleep tight" as Seto stood up and caught her watching him. He should have turned a million shades of red, magenta and pink but all he did was give a slight shrug of his shoulders at being caught in such an act of brotherly love. At least he wasn't afraid to show emotion towards his little brother. Now, if only she could get him to act that way all the time and include her friends into it, all would be well. Although, he'd shown promise during the card game when he'd refrained from hurtling anything resembling an insult towards anyone sitting at the table, even when Joey became Idiot for the second time that night.

"Well, I guess this is good night, Téa," Yugi said, lifting his violet eyes to meet hers. "Thanks for a great dinner and an even better dessert." With a conspiratorial wink to his best friend, he softly muttered, "I'll get Tristan to go with me upstairs. Leave you two alone for a minute before Joey comes back."

Seto overheard the last remark and had to bite his lip to stop from laughing. So, Yugi knew everything, just as he'd expected. Not a shock at all but the fact that he _wanted_ them to spend a minute alone together proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Yugi harboured no ill feelings towards him. In fact, he didn't seem to mind the idea of the two of them being together at all. And after everything he'd put the shrimp through… He was going to have to seriously rethink every thought he'd ever had about Yugi and put it in a new perspective. Seto had never seen this naughtier side of Yugi, either. Hadn't even realized that it could exist in so innocent a young man. Guess he was proven wrong on that account, too.

"Thanks, Yugi, you're the best," Téa replied, just as softly, and ruffled the top of Yugi's head in an affectionate gesture of friendship. He was giving them his tacit approval to be together. That alone was worth everything to her. That he respected her enough to let her make her own decisions about whom she could date went above and beyond the call of friendship and bordered on saintliness, considering it was Seto Kaiba, his foremost rival, that she'd chosen to date.

Téa made her way towards Seto as Yugi began the aforementioned interception of Tristan, who was coming over to say his thanks for such a great Christmas Eve. "Thanks for everything, Téa. Your cheesecake is the best," he managed to get out before Yugi physically hauled him out of the room and towards the stairs. Yugi had some strength to accomplish that, although Téa had a sneaking suspicion that Yami had exerted a little of his influence to help his other half in his mission.

"No problem, Tristan." Now, with those two out of the room and Mokuba still snuggled in his sleeping bag, it was time for private thanks from one Seto Kaiba. He looked as eager as she felt to be alone, **finally**, especially after that performance they'd both gone through during the card game.

His hand reached out and grasped hers, pulling her in closer to his warmth. A tingling wave of electricity raced through them both at the familiar contact as his other hand wound itself in her lemon-scented hair, tilting her face towards his so he could accomplish his own private mission. "You are amazing. Have I told you that yet?" Seto whispered, his warm breath tickling the outer edges of her ear.

"And you're **very** good at distractions but if you don't shut up and kiss me now…" Whatever else she was going to say was lost as Seto pressed his soft lips to hers, molding them together for the longest space of time possible. It wasn't nearly enough but it would have to do since Wheeler was going to return at any second and it just wouldn't do to be caught in such a compromising position.

Her toes curled up in her socks at the sweet, lingering taste of chocolate cheesecake on Seto's lips. She gripped his hand more tightly in hers as they separated from their kiss. It was obvious from the frustrated expression in his eyes that he wished it could have lasted much longer but they both knew Joey's return was imminent. In fact,

Three… thumping footsteps echoed down the hall.

Two… a grumbling voice muttered something about a cheesecake snack run.

One… Joey walked back into the basement family room to find Kaiba tucked into his sleeping bag already, next to a lightly snoring Mokuba, and no one else in sight. Frowning once, Joey gave Kaiba another glance over his shoulder before he reached for the backpack lying next to his own navy blue sleeping bag. Checking the bottom of the backpack, Joey noticed that his Kaiba surprise was still there, right where he'd put it. Sighing once in relief, he gave another quick glance over at Kaiba and saw that he was still asleep, eyes closed and mouth slightly parted. Should he or shouldn't he? The arrogant jerk **had** actually kept to the truce and Joey hadn't been expecting that to last more than an hour before they were at each other's proverbial throats again, hurling insults and sarcastic commentary. But somehow, the truce they'd concluded in Téa's front entranceway had held. Whether it was Téa's threats to do something worse to them or that Christmas Spirit once more, he couldn't be sure. But this practical joke was as much a Christmas tradition as playing 'Asshole' and watching "Rudolph" and "Frosty". If he did it to Yugi, it just wouldn't feel right now that the Spirit of a 5,000 year-old Pharaoh inhabited his body. Tristan had been the last victim and Joey wasn't stupid enough to even think of doing this to Téa in her own bed in her own house. That only left Kaiba or Mokuba. Hmmm, which one would be better suited for this purpose?

Mokuba had stolen his pyjama pants and set him and Tristan up during the snowball fight…

Kaiba was… Kaiba. But did Joey really have a death wish?

Pulling the prank on either of them was tantamount to suicide…

But it was tradition…

Poor Joey. Decisions, decisions…

* * *

The house lay quiet and still. The others had gone to sleep hours ago, it seemed. Joey snored like a sawmill. Tristan muttered about pink jackets and phone numbers. Yugi didn't make a sound except for the occasional sigh. Mokuba slept like the dead, arms splayed out almost close enough to touch his older brother. Seto eyed the dark basement, looking for any signs of movement at all, before he rolled over and checked his watch, illuminating it with the small button and cupping his hand around it so no light escaped.

Quarter after one. It had taken forever for everyone to fall asleep and Seto had had to endure bouts of whispered conversation between the three boys at the far end of the basement as he pretended to sleep soundlessly. It had been a hushed conversation and he could only catch a word or two but it sounded like they were making plans for the morning. What plans, he couldn't tell, but it was probably something to do with their cleanup duties. "Breakfast" had been the most frequent word he'd managed to hear.

No matter. It was time to see if Téa were still awake and waiting for him. Her whispered "See you later" before she'd dashed upstairs to avoid seeing Joey, and prompting further **_harassment_ **charges, had clued him in to her supernatural, psychic abilities. There was no hiding anything from her. Smiling in the inky darkness, he began to make his move. Sliding out of his sleeping bag, he made sure to carefully arrange it so it looked like someone was still inside. It wouldn't work once the morning came but he figured they would think he was in the washroom cleaning up and getting ready to face the day. For now, the rumpled mess would do and he was anxious to get upstairs and spend some 'quality' time with his girlfriend.

Yet another word that the world would be shocked to know existed in Seto Kaiba's mind.

Seto's trip up the stairs went flawlessly as he pondered exactly what he wanted to do to Téa when he arrived in her room. First and foremost was a Christmas kiss. What happened after that would be up to her as long as he got to sleep in her bed with his arms wrapped loosely around her waist and the smell of her hair surrounding him. Nothing else really mattered. The last few nights alone had been cold and empty without her next to him. One night with her had spoiled him and he wouldn't be denied the pleasure of her company tonight. Nothing would keep him from her.

Nothing.

* * *

Téa opened her eyes at the slight creak of her door and woke fully from the half doze she'd fallen into while waiting for Seto to make his move. Wondering if he could see her brilliant smile, she listened as he stepped inside and closed the door carefully behind him before he made a move towards her bed. They were both taking such a huge risk with Joey, Tristan, Yugi and Mokuba sleeping two floors beneath them. Well, then again, she had told him she'd see him later.

"Merry Christmas, Seto," she whispered as he stopped beside her and regarded her with moonlit, ocean-blue eyes.

"Merry Christmas, Téa," he whispered back, not surprised that she was awake and awaiting his arrival. Pulling back the pink and white comforter, she scooted to the far side of the bed in silent invitation and he couldn't miss the welcoming smile on her lips as he slid inside. Deep sighs of satisfaction from them both broke through the night as they snuggled under her covers together, his arms reaching out to her pull her back to him. "I think this is the best Christmas present I'm going to get."

"What? A warm bed to sleep in?" Téa teased, her hand caressing the silk covering his shoulder and eliciting a pleased purr that made her heart do double time.

"No, definitely not. My Christmas present is going to be waking up next to you." The blush on his cheeks was deep enough that she could see it in the soft moonlight that filtered into her room through the curtains at the window.

"Then remind me to take back the present I bought for you. If I'd known this was all you wanted…" She couldn't finish her sentence as his lips covered hers. The kiss lasted for what seemed like an eternity before he pulled away from her.

"Very funny," he said dryly, snaking his arm around her waist and letting his fingers slide slowly up and down her spine. The answering shiver and soft moan made him chuckle. "Am I distracting enough for you?"

"Do you even have to ask?" She frowned momentarily and he wondered what was going on in that head of hers. Sometimes, she was impossible to read. "What?"

"As much as **I** like having you here, what's going to happen in the morning? The boys…" Téa left that last bit hanging between them and he kissed the top of her head.

"Do you think I haven't thought of that yet? I've already set my watch to go off at 5 a.m. Do you think I want your friends to find me here, with you, like this? I don't have a death wish and knowing Wheeler…" The worry in her eyes eased and she nodded in understanding. "Besides, they're too busy worrying about tomorrow's 'clean up' duties to even think that something like this is happening between us."

"What do you mean?" she asked, pausing in her gentle exploration of the stubble on his chin.

"Before they went to sleep, they kept talking about 'breakfast'. I figured they meant who was going to do the dishes afterwards." Pulling her in just a little bit closer, he let his own fingers slide underneath the material of her pyjama top and touch her bare skin. A breathy sigh from the girl beside him and Seto smiled tightly as his fingers began their dance across her naked back once more.

"I hope that's what they were talking about," she replied, finding it harder to think with his fingers working magic across her muscles and skin. Time for a little play of her own. Tilting her face towards him once more, she settled her lips on his and felt him respond to her by deepening the kiss. A swipe of her tongue across his bottom lip had his head reeling as he gave in to the feelings racing through his body.

Tonight would be a night to remember.

* * *

Joey woke with a snort and sat up in his sleeping bag. Checking the surroundings with a sweep of his golden eyes, he brought his watch close to his face to check the time.

Four fifteen a.m. Another hour until he could put his plan into motion.

Grinning goofily, he settled back into his sleeping bag after making sure that the small alarm on his watch was still set for five fifteen.

Someone was going to be surprised in the morning.

* * *

Yeah, all right. I lied again. There will be at least one more chapter. This story just refuses to want to be finished.

Wonder what Joey's planning? And who's going to be surprised?

That's for me to know and you to find out in Chapter 16.

As always, I am

Aphrael21;)


	16. The Truth is Almost Out

**Chapter 16 – The Truth is Almost Out**

Well, well, well, folks, here is the final chapter. I mean it this time. No more to follow unless it's an epilogue. Right… ;)

* * *

_**Recap…**_

_Joey woke with a snort and sat up in his sleeping bag. Checking the surroundings with a sweep of his golden eyes, he brought his watch close to his face to check the time. _

_Four fifteen a.m. Another hour until he could put his plan into motion._

_Grinning goofily, he settled back into his sleeping bag after making sure that the small alarm on his watch was still set for five fifteen._

_Someone was going to be surprised in the morning._

* * *

The bun in his hands was soft and warm. Tomato and lettuce glistened with crystalline drops of moisture. A hint of ketchup and mustard seeped down from the grilled perfection of meat and Joey had to hold back a tear of happiness at the beatific sight before him. His gaze was rapturous, noticing nothing except for the mouth-watering temptation that awaited him. He didn't even think it odd that when he reached for a napkin (that appeared out of thin air) and tucked it into his t-shirt collar that his hamburger still floated at eye level, with nothing supporting it. 

"_Joey, I have to tell you something_," Téa said, her face hovering at the edge of his peripheral vision.

"_Not now, Téa_," he replied, his golden eyes flicking over at her before re-focussing on his version of heaven.

"_But Joey, it's important_," she cried, her aqua blue eyes shimmering.

"_Jus' let me enjoy dis fer a minute more_," Joey whined, his eyes crinkling as the masterpiece of meaty perfection slowly morphed into a slice of pepperoni pizza. The crust was a flawless golden brown. The cheese was soft and bubbly at the edges of the slice. The pepperoni was crisp but tender. The lines on his forehead smoothed out and Joey grinned then.

Pizza was his second favourite food.

"_It's **really** important, Joey! You would **want** to know this_," she cried again, her aqua blue eyes beginning to flash with a hint of anger.

"_You'd better listen to her, Wheeler_," Kaiba's gravely voice commanded from somewhere behind him.

"_Kaiba? What the hell are **you** doing in **my** dream_?" Joey asked, hands holding the slice of pizza before him, ready to take a bite.

"_You're asking me like **I'd** understand what you're dreaming about? Get real, Wheeler_!" Kaiba's aqua eyes flared with contempt as Joey grimaced. Even in his own head, Kaiba was a jerk.

"_Whateva, Kaiba-boy_," Joey replied, his voice taking on Pegasus' sarcastic nickname for the teenage billionaire. "_I've got a surprise planned for you, anyways_."

The slice of pizza morphed instantaneously into a can of shaving cream. An exact replica, in fact, of the one hidden in the bottom of his backpack. Too bad Joey didn't realize it before he tried to take a huge bite out of it and got nothing but metal between his lips. Rubbing his mouth with the back of his hand, he glared at dream-Kaiba.

"_You really do have a death wish, don't you Wheeler, if you're planning on pulling that childish stunt on me_." Kaiba's trademark smirk grew wider as he continued. "_Besides, we have a truce remember? Break that and **I won't** be the one killing you_."

A larger than life image of Joey dressed in the pig costume flashed across the space behind Kaiba's floating head.

Téa's bodiless head came into view once more, her eyes cold and hard as her gaze bore into him. It was uncomfortable to see her normally smiling eyes look so determined to make his life a miserable living hell.

"_You really want me to do something worse than the pig costume, don't you_?" she questioned/threatened, her head growing ever larger until it filled his entire field of vision. No larger than a mouse, Joey cringed under the weight of her unusually demonic stare.

"_Hey_!" Joey finally stood his ground and glared back at dream-Téa, who seemed slightly taken aback at this sudden show of courage. "_This. Is. **MY**. Dream! You're supposed t' be nice t' me_!"

The angry set of her mouth softened and an amused chuckle rumbled forth, confusing Joey even further. What the hell was going on here? Why was she in his dream anyways? And what was the deal with Kaiba?

"_Looks like the mutt's finally grown a backbone_," Kaiba quipped, almost daring Joey into saying something foolish.

"**_Seto_**!" Téa's amusement ended as she stonily glanced at the young CEO. Why was she calling him by his first name? Joey hadn't a clue. "_Oh, Joey. This is your dream. The two of us, Seto and I, are your subconscious representations of your conscience_."

"_Huh? You guys are a what of my what_?" Joey scratched his blonde mop of hair as the head floating before him coalesced in a shower of multi-coloured sparkles to normal size and added a body.

"_Joey_," her soft, melodious voice surrounded him, calm and soothing, "_I'm just – we're just – trying to stop you from doing something stupid._"

"_Really? Even **him**_?"

"_Even him_," she agreed. "_This is just like the picnic at my house. I told you to stop eating and you didn't listen to me. Remember what happened after that_?" She saw the sheepish grin and the hand in the hair again and continued. "_For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction._"

"So _yer sayin' that if I do what I wanna do t' Kaiba, den, sumpthin' bad will happen t' me_?" Joey stopped and his eyes grew wide as saucers as understanding lit the dusty hallways of his mind. "_An yer jus' tryin' t' stop me from doin' sumpthin' that will get me in trouble_."

"_Yes, Joey. Exactly_." Téa's smile lit the horizon and she threw her aqua eyes in Kaiba's direction. "_And **you** thought he wouldn't understand_."

"_I'm impressed the mutt figured it out so quickly. I figured it would have taken him at least a half dozen tries to get it through that wet noodle he calls a brain_." Kaiba crossed his arms over his chest and sauntered away into the mists of Joey's dream, white trench coat flaring dramatically behind him. A voice echoed back to them from where Kaiba had just disappeared. "_Think he can figure out the rest of what you wanted to tell him or would that be asking too much_?"

"_Drama queen_," Téa muttered, more to herself than for Joey to overhear, judging by the more-than-fond smile on her lips and the adoring gleam in her eyes.

"_Téa, what's he talkin' 'bout? What other stuff did you want to tell me_?" Joey asked, not quite able to understand what dream-Kaiba was blabbering about.

"_You know what he meant, Joey. You just refuse to see it. Stop trying to make up excuses and reasons and **open your eyes**_," Téa replied, turning away from a bewildered Joey Wheeler and moving towards the mists Seto Kaiba had disappeared into.

"_Excuses? Reasons? For what_?" Joey asked pleadingly. "_C'mon Téa, quit bein' so cryptic_."

"_Joey, I'm your conscience, not your brain. Use it for once and just try to understand_." Before she disappeared completely, Joey watched her turn her head around and focus her blue eyes on him once more. "_Well, Joey, have you decided to pull the stunt or not? I'd like the answer before I go and you haven't told me yet_. _I really hope you give me the answer I want_." She patiently stood and waited for his response, her eyes full of questioning.

Should he or shouldn't he? He himself hadn't really decided. But if she wanted an answer, he'd give it to her. It just needed a little more thought.

The shaving cream prank was a deep-seated tradition. The first Christmas after they'd all met, it had begun. Yugi had been the first recipient at the tender age of fourteen. The look he'd seen on a young Yugi's face (laughter, embarrassment and innocent fun) still brought tears of mirth to his eyes. An absolutely priceless moment caught and remembered forever in the annals of his memory.

Joey himself had been the victim of his own prank the next Christmas when the party had been held at Téa's. He'd been a good sport about the whole thing too, and laughed as hard as everyone else at his own predicament. After all, why should he be angry when he was, technically, the one who had started the whole thing? Mind you, he'd paid Yugi back for it later when he'd purposefully flushed the toilet while Yugi was in the shower.

Last Christmas, before the world had gone insane, Tristan had been none too appreciative at being woken up with a face full of shaving cream. None could blame him either since he had a tendency to sleep with his mouth wide open. The taste of cucumber-melon shaving cream (compliments of Téa's personal shower) was obviously not very pleasant if one could judge from the spluttering roar that burst out of his mouth.

But ever since that last Christmas, things had changed. There hadn't been time, nor energy, to enjoy a private get-together with the crazy goings on that made them all band together to save the world. But save it, they had. And now it was time for a reward. A change, too. Joey wasn't the same guy now that he had been three years ago when he'd pulled the last stunt. He'd grown up a lot and maybe it really was time to break old habits.

Not to mention, the more he thought about pranking either of the Kaibas, the more he realized that he really did like living with all of his limbs intact and all of his teeth where they should be. Filling either of their faces with shaving cream would also break the long-standing truce between himself and the elder Kaiba. Granted, less than twelve hours shouldn't be considered a long time but since it was with Seto Kaiba, a teenager known for his temper and dislike of those he considered beneath him, it should qualify as a Guinness Book of World Records record.

"_A'right, I won't pull de shaving cream prank. I'm going t' start a new tradition. Sumpthin' dat everyone will be able t' appreciate_." Lightning roared and thunder flashed as Téa's eyes lit up in triumph before disappearing into the grey mists at the edge of Joey's dream.

A whispery voice called out to him, "_Remember_." That single word echoed back a hundred times louder.

"_Remember_."

"_**RE**member_."

"_**REMEM**ber_."

"**_REMEMBER_**!"

"…**_BER_**!"

"**Be**!"

"**BEE**!"

Something about the echo was annoyingly familiar, he thought, as the sound managed to drag him out of his strange dreamscape. Blinking blearily in the semi-light of the basement, Joey realized why it was so familiar. The alarm on his watch, muffled by the sleeping bag covering his arm, was merrily announcing that it was time to get up and start the new tradition he'd just dreamed about.

Pushing in the button on the side of the watch before it woke everyone up, Joey brought the watch to his face.

Five-fifteen on the dot.

Perfect timing. He could get started on his new stunt and then wake everyone else in an hour to help him finish up. The only thing he had to worry about now was food poisoning.

* * *

Seto sighed sleepily as he snuggled a little more deeply into the warmth of the wonderful girl sleeping next to him, her head comfortably nestled in the crook of his arm. Opening his eyes only halfway, the murky light of dawn filtered into her room, dimly highlighting golden tones in Téa's hair. Brushing a strand of hair away from her face, he let his fingers caress the silky softness of her cheek. 

Until the day she'd come into his office, somehow both nervous and confident, holding her ridiculously little purple purse before her and giving him an unexpected present, Seto hadn't realized that there was something missing from his life. Money, power, fame, glory – he had it all and he'd thought it was enough. But, somehow, this girl sleeping beside him had woken something inside him.

Something that had made him think about her constantly through that week before he'd gone to thank her for her present. And everyday after that…

Something that had made him want to see her smile and laugh and know he was the cause.

Something that had made him want to kiss her in the snow for the first time.

Something that had made him want her. Period.

And he would be embarrassed to the ninth level of Hell if she, or anyone else, ever found out how often he'd daydream about her.

A soft mumble that sounded suspiciously like a breathy 'Seto' made him smile as he gently kissed the tangled tendrils of her golden brown hair before extracting his arm from underneath her. The alarm would go off any second. His internal body clock was flawless.

He had never been late yet…

Bringing his watch to his face, he blinked once or twice to clear the sleep from his eyes. It couldn't be right.

…until now.

Could it, somehow, already be that time? Or was there something wrong with his watch? Did he sleep through the alarm?

Slipping out of his bed as quietly as he could, Seto crept to the window and checked the watch face again.

It hadn't lied to him.

It was now, officially, 8:03 am Christmas morning.

_**SHIT!**_

The whole point of setting the alarm was to rouse him before anyone else would be awake so he could slip back into his sleeping bag in the basement unseen. Now that it was **this** late, he hadn't a snowball's chance of doing that. Everyone was probably already out of bed.

Not just them, either.

**Mokuba** would definitely be up. He would want to be up early, today of all days, since it was Christmas. A time of opening presents and stuffing himself full of good food and sugar. Maybe his little brother would find some way to cover for him. He knew what was going on between himself and Téa and he seemed to like the idea. All Seto could do was hope.

He had to find a reason to be on the second floor. Being caught in Téa's room was not a good way to introduce everyone else to the idea of the two of them dating. It was supposed to be done slowly, deliberately. Yugi already knew, but he was more mature than the other two dimwits Téa called friends. Those two were liable to hit first and ask questions later.

The proverbial light bulb finally flashed over his head as he thought about the reason he needed. If he could make it to the bathroom without being seen…

A crash in the hallway downstairs and the thunder of a muffled "Crap!" broke his train of thought. At least he'd been right in knowing that everyone was awake. If he'd tried to sneak back downstairs, he would have been caught for sure. Other muttering voices and the smell of fresh brewed coffee told him everything he needed to know.

The bathroom was his only chance.

And he'd better get there.

**Fast**.

* * *

"Tristan! Watch dose big, clumsy feet of yours! So help me if ya make me drop dis tray…" Joey exclaimed, keeping his voice as low as possible while still sounding quite pissed off at his friend. Waking Téa up before they'd made it to her door with her Christmas breakfast was not the best way to introduce her to his new 'tradition'. 

Dream-Téa had made him see the folly of trying to pull the shaving cream stunt on either of the Kaibas and Joey realized that it **was** a childish act. This Christmas, Joey was going to do his best to make a new start with the New Year only a week away. He'd keep to the truce if it killed him and start something different in the process.

Honestly though, it hadn't been too difficult. Kaiba seemed to have mellowed out in the last week or so. Ever since Téa's last party, the one where they'd spent the day decorating her house. Dream-Kaiba's reference to "_getting the rest of it_" still had him perplexed. Why had dream-Téa insisted that he already knew but he refused to see? What was he supposed to open his eyes to? Joey shrugged his shoulders and continued to head for the stairs leading up to the second floor and Téa's bedroom.

He really hoped she liked his pancakes.

Mokuba, who'd been following silently behind them, decided to pipe up at that moment. "Guys, why are we doing this again?"

Yugi chuckled as he turned to look at the younger Kaiba. "Because breakfast is the only thing that Joey can cook that tastes like food. Besides, since we're on clean up duty today, we might as well make as huge a mess as we can or Téa will do it for us." Seeing Mokuba's eyes widen in comprehension, Yugi wondered what was going on in that devious little mind of his. The younger Kaiba had protested, quite vehemently in fact, to the idea of waking up his older brother. The threat of Seto Kaiba being grumpier than a Blue Eyes with heartburn had staved off an onslaught of 'good morning' hollers in the basement. Joey had been more than pleased to leave Kaiba out of the making of Christmas breakfast. Anything that kept him and Kaiba as far apart as possible was fine by him. It was easier to keep to the truce that way.

Mokuba, by far the craftiest of the four of them, had realized instantly upon waking that Kaiba was not present in the room. He'd had to think fast lest they'd discovered his absence and started to wonder as to where he'd gone. Seto would have been proud at the grand acting display he'd put on to make them leave his sleeping bag in peace and the wide berth they'd given it as they'd trudged up the stairs to finish helping Joey get breakfast ready.

"And **I** decided t' start dis new tradition instead of keepin' to de old one," Joey added, carefully balancing the tray between his hands as he took the first step up the long staircase to Téa's room.

"What was the old tradition, then?" Mokuba asked curiously. His ears perked up to hear whatever it was Joey was going to say. Maybe it was something he could use on Seto at a later date to make his life more… 'interesting'.

'_I, too, would like to know about this tradition. My own upbringing was steeped in it, for I was the Chosen One of Ra,' Yami stated, his voice deeply thoughtful as he turned to regard Yugi with solemn, violet eyes._

_Yugi laughed before he replied, keeping one ear tuned to Joey's explanation should he start to exaggerate for the sake of his young audience. 'It's not **that** kind of a tradition, Pharaoh. Joey's tradition is more of a prank than anything else. Before… everything happened and we saved the world, Joey used to be a lot less mature…'_

_Yami's covered up chuckle interrupted Yugi and he had to smile. 'Believe it or not, he used to be way worse than he is now. Anyways, in those days, he loved to pull pranks and practical jokes on people. Christmas time was the time he used to use shaving cream to…'_

'_What is shaving cream?' Yami's perplexed eyes transfixed Yugi for a moment before he burst out into mental laughter. _

'_It's stuff that you use to help you shave. You don't know what it is because we don't have any at my house. To continue, if I may,' Yugi's voice held a bit of an amused edge as he looked at the Pharaoh and saw embarrassment flush his cheeks a pretty hue of pink. 'At night, or early in the morning, Joey would take the shaving cream and spray it into their hands. The stuff is light and airy so they can't feel it if they're well and truly asleep. Then he'd tickle their nose…' Yugi didn't have to finish saying anything as Yami nodded in understanding. _

'_I see. I remember when I was younger. I used to play a similar 'prank' on my teacher when he would fall asleep during my lessons but instead of this shaving cream, I used honey. I can still remember him chasing me through the palace hallways.' Yami sighed and chuckled again and Yugi couldn't help but feel a bit of sympathy._

"…You shoulda seen Tristan's face when he woke up, spluttering and grumbling. It was priceless, I tell ya!" Joey finished. Mokuba laughed loudly, not only in reaction to Joey's retelling of the story but to warn his brother that they were coming. He should have figured it out earlier but he'd been too distracted at the thought of Yugi, Tristan and Joey finding him missing.

Seto was in Téa's room. He'd bet a month's worth of his allowance on that.

"Do you think Téa will mind all of us coming into her room first thing in the morning and waking her up?" Mokuba asked, stalling them on the stairs again.

"As long as we come bearing presents, including coffee, it shouldn't be too bad," Yugi replied, knowing that Téa was not a morning person. Why was Mokuba being so loud? Could it have something to do with not waking up Kaiba… Snapping his fingers mentally, Yami and Yugi both realized at the same time what was going on.

Uh oh.

If Kaiba were in there and they burst through the doorway, Joey was going to have a heart attack.

"I tink she'll like dis new tradition," Joey said, his voice happy and cheerful. It would mean that he'd never gotten Téa with shaving cream but he could live with that. Taking a glance over at Tristan, he saw the moon-pie eyes and knew he was thinking of Julie. He should have been jealous that his best friend had gotten the girl first but the more he thought about it, the happier he was. At least he wasn't chasing his sister anymore.

Tristan noticed Joey's glance at him. There was no way that Joey could know what was going on in his head. The wide eyes were not because he was thinking about Julie or Serenity or that cute girl at the tree stand. The wide eyes were because of what he saw in the hallway ahead of him. What he shouldn't have seen at all.

Light in the hallway. More specifically, light in front of Téa's door. For all the years he'd known her, Tristan knew she slept with her door closed tightly. Something wasn't right with this picture.

He also had a niggling feeling that it had something to do with the only member of their group not present.

Seto Kaiba.

* * *

A loud burst of laughter from the stairwell alerted Seto to their presence. They were too close for him to make it to the bathroom down the hall in time. 

He was trapped in Téa's room. Much as he wanted to crawl back into bed with her and hide, he realized that it would be impossible. He was just going to have to face the truth.

"Do you think Téa will mind all of us coming into her room first thing in the morning and waking her up?" came Mokuba's loud voice.

That gave him an idea. One that would hopefully save his butt and keep the peace between them all for a little while longer yet. He only had one shot at this and he'd better make it convincing.

Time to act as he'd never acted before.

* * *

Yeah, lied again. Decided to finish this chapter off since it's been so long in coming. My computer was in the shop for over a week so I was computerless and Internetless for a while. 

Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Please read and feel free to review.

Thanks again and as always I am,

Aphrael21;)


	17. The Final Act

**Chapter 17 – The Final Act**

One more chapter to go.

I am going to go on hiatus for a while since school will be starting again shortly. A few one shots may pop out in the near future but I'm going to write my multi-chaptered fics out completely before I post them. That way, there is no wait for updates. I'll be able to upload a chapter a week then and keep you all satisfied.

* * *

_**Recap**_

_A loud burst of laughter from the stairwell alerted Seto to their presence. They were too close for him to make it to the bathroom down the hall in time. _

_He was trapped in Téa's room. Much as he wanted to crawl back into bed with her and hide, he realized that it would be impossible. He was just going to have to face the truth._

"_Do you think Téa will mind all of us coming into her room first thing in the morning and waking her up?" came Mokuba's loud voice._

_That gave him an idea. One that would hopefully save his butt and keep the peace between them all for a little while longer yet. He only had one shot at this and he'd better make it convincing._

_Time to act as he'd never acted before._

* * *

Something was definitely not right with the picture he was seeing, Tristan thought, wide eyes narrowing in suspicion instead. It was wintertime and the sun didn't start to rise until at least 7:30 am. It was only just after eight. Too early yet. The lightness he could see on the walls should not have been there. The hallway should have been buried in darkness. Should have been… 

And wasn't.

That was the first thing that came to mind.

The second was a change in the intensity of the light he could see. Something was blocking the weak rays of the early morning sun and judging by the vague outline he could see, it couldn't be Téa. The height and width at the shoulders was all wrong. Since it couldn't possibly be either of the four of them, there was only one possibility left. The missing member of their group.

Seto Kaiba.

But what would he be doing up here when he was supposed to be downstairs sleeping? Had he managed to slip past them while they were in the kitchen preparing breakfast? That was possible since they'd been making a lot of noise and horsing around while the cooking was happening. Somehow, though, that idea just didn't seem to fit.

Shrugging his shoulders, his mind continued to turn over the problem in his head as the journey up the stairs continued.

* * *

Seto took a deep breath and shook out his hands at his sides. It was a calming technique he'd used many times – before board meetings, stockholders meetings, Duel Monsters games. It helped him focus on the current situation and he needed all the help he could get right now. 

His performance needed to be convincing.

Flawless.

The whole reasoning behind this idea was simple. Since he didn't have enough time to make it down the hall to the washroom, he was going to 'pretend' he'd woken up downstairs, heard all the noise in the kitchen and made it his mission to intercept them before they woke Téa up. His righteous indignation would be justified. It was Christmas morning and everyone deserved to sleep in for a little while longer.

Especially the hostess of the party.

She'd been up for quite some time the night before. They both had.

Glancing over at her bed from his post by her doorway, he saw that she was still sleeping peacefully in spite of the noise coming from the hallway – what with the boys making enough of it to wake the dead and his own rushed breathing, he was mildly surprised. The over-abundance of pink and white comforter, and the girl still covered up by it, looked so inviting that it took all of his willpower to remain where he was, listening to the chatter of the 'friends' coming up the stairs.

How much longer was he going to have to wait?

* * *

"What'cha tinkin' 'bout so hard, Tris?" Joey asked, noticing the narrowed eyes and the silent pondering expression on his best friends' face. The hackles on his neck rose as a low-throated growl issued forth from deep within Tristan's chest. Yugi gulped at the menacing noise and Yami readied himself to take over should Yugi need any assistance from him. 

Tristan had finally put two and two together.

A missing Seto Kaiba…

Light in a dark hallway…

And a devious younger brother…

Tristan thought there'd been something funny with Kaiba's sleeping bag in the basement but in the half-light of early dawn, he'd dismissed it as a trick of the eyes. What should have been Kaiba's hair had looked as white as a pillowcase…

"Where's Kaiba?" Tristan asked softly, menace apparent in his voice. "He should be here to help us, shouldn't he?"

"But Mokuba said…"

"I think Mokuba knows something he's not telling us." Tristan cut Joey off as he glanced behind him at a furiously blushing younger Kaiba.

"What are you saying, Tristan? Man, I hate it when he goes all cryptic on me. Why is everyone doing dat to me lately?" Joey stopped on the final stair and turned to look at his best friend, his golden eyes confused at the fire in his friend's brown ones.

One more step and…

* * *

All they had to do was turn the corner and look down the hall. There was nowhere left for him to hide. The closet, under the bed, out of her window – those were all discarded ideas that really wouldn't have worked. Standing here, ready to face a firing squad, was his best option. The only option. Besides, he was Seto Kaiba. He didn't hide from his problems – he faced them head on. 

Wheeler's elbow and the back of his blonde mop of hair were clearly visible as Seto scowled for all he was worth. It wouldn't do for them to find him in front of her door, peering longingly at the still sleeping slip of a girl. No, it wouldn't do at all. And Taylor's words had been too soft for him to hear but the underlying tone of imminent danger he could easily identify.

Tristan Taylor, dog-boy's best friend and partner in crime, knew.

Everything.

Unless his little scheme panned out as faultlessly as he'd envisioned, their secret was out. There would be consequences to deal with and it was those that he wanted to avoid after such a perfect night spent with the girl who'd somehow managed to capture his heart.

Seto sincerely hoped everything worked out since he really didn't feel up to hurting anyone on Christmas Day.

* * *

"**Is** dere sumpthin' yer not tellin' us, Mokuba?" Joey asked, steadying the tray between hands that had started to tremble uncontrollably for no apparent reason. 

"Well…" Mokuba started to say before a cough from further down the hall caught everyone's attention. Amber, brown, violet and violet-grey eyes swung to find the source of the noise. A collective gasp rose from the group of four boys at seeing Seto Kaiba standing in the hallway in front of Téa's door, impressive in his silk-pyjamaed glory, feet spread wide and arms crossed over his chest.

The scowl alone was a force to be reckoned with.

"Would you four mind keeping your voices down?" Seto whispered fiercely, stepping away from the half open door. "**Someone** is still trying to sleep in this house on Christmas Day." He hoped that he looked fearsome enough that they would slowly back away. Trepidation had gripped him as he realized that one wrong word, one wrong look, would send the entire mystery of his relationship with Téa out the proverbial window.

"Kaiba! What the hell are you doin' up here?" Joey exclaimed, keeping his voice low but unable to keep confusion from infusing it as his hands miraculously steadied around the handles of the tray he still carried. Kaiba's presence, as unexpected as it was, didn't really surprise him. Not in the least. The elder Kaiba had been popping up in the strangest places – both of Téa's parties, Domino Mall (even though no one believed him, Joey **knew** he'd been there) and his dreams being foremost in his mind – that finding him up here, just a few feet away from Téa's bedroom, didn't really phase him at all.

And it should have.

Warning bells should have been ringing like wildfire.

Yugi and the Spirit of the Pharaoh hung back a step and enjoyed the show on display before them. With a glance to the form floating beside him, Yugi sensed a feeling of intense enjoyment of Kaiba's predicament. How was he going to talk his way out of this one?

"_Enjoying his discomfort, Pharaoh?" Yugi asked, noticing the tight grin on the Spirit's lips. His head turned slightly to regard the one whose body he shared and nodded sharply._

"_I am. For all of the discomfort he has caused us before, it is nice to see payback happen once in a while," Yami replied before chuckling evilly. Yugi felt an answering grin form on his lips as he watched Kaiba stare menacingly at the other members of the group. "Especially when I have nothing to do with the payback. It is all Kaiba's own fault. Poor Kaiba."_

_Yugi silently agreed with Yami's observations and turned to watch the events unfold before him._

"What am **I** doing up here? The real question should be what are **you** doing up here?" The ice in his voice chilled Tristan to the core. Maybe he'd been wrong to accuse Mokuba of withholding information. Kaiba really was a grumpy dude first thing in the morning. Maybe his suspicions were groundless although the niggling sensation that he was missing something wouldn't leave him alone.

Mokuba stared gratefully at his older brother. His presence had come at just the right moment and saved him from having to answer what would have been a very awkward question. If he'd tried to lie about it, the other three would have seen through it immediately. He already felt guilty enough for 'misleading' them in the basement when they'd avoided 'waking up' Seto with their hollers. That hadn't been an out-and-out lie since Seto really wasn't a morning person.

"Us? We're bringing Téa breakfast in bed." Joey thrust the tray forward slightly, rattling the covered dishes and spilling a drop of water from the vase that held a still bright daffodil he'd taken from the vase on the counter in the kitchen. "Now, explain t' me why we shouldn't be doin' dis. I didn't catch yer reasoning de first time 'round."

If the tray hadn't been occupying his hands, Seto suspected that Wheeler would be imitating his own current stance as he tried his best to look intimidating. As it was, blonde-boy was just glaring at him, his eyes scrutinizing every detail about the situation. If Seto didn't think it was impossible, he'd swear that Wheeler was thinking.

Scary thought.

* * *

Téa sighed in her sleep. She was in that wonderful state between dreaming and waking up, the one that felt like she was floating on air. There was a reason for her to be so happy. A smile turned her lips up as she remembered the events of the night before. Seto could be quite frisky under the right circumstances and with the right encouragement. Memories of scorching kisses and gentle caresses made her sigh once more as the thought of waking him up for a Christmas morning snuggle started to sound better and better. 

Her hand reached out, expecting to encounter the warm, satiny material that covered Seto's arm. The small frown on her face indicated that said object was nowhere within reach. Stretching out a little further, she still didn't find anything that remotely felt like what she wanted to feel under her palm. A small draft of cold air had her instantly curling up under her blankets, legs tucked almost under her chin as her hands grasped the edges of her comforter and pulled it tightly around her still half-asleep body.

Where could he have gotten to this early in the morning? They'd been up for quite some time the night before, til well past 2 am. He should have been fast asleep next to her, exhausted, and sharing his body heat with her. Some niggling thought that he'd had to leave squeezed across her mind but she dismissed it instantly.

He didn't have to go anywhere. It was Christmas morning and she wanted him next to her.

What she wanted, she always got.

No matter the consequences.

* * *

This whole situation felt _wrong_, Joey thought as he waited for Kaiba to answer him. Dream-Kaiba's phrase about "getting the rest of it" and Dream-Téa's phrase about "opening his eyes" were a non-stop mantra in his head. What was he supposed to get that he wasn't seeing? Taking a mental step back, Joey looked at the circumstances with as unbiased an eye as he could manage. He had a feeling that he was close to a breakthrough. 

Point one: Tristan thought there was something that Mokuba wasn't telling them. The little imp had been about to say something when Kaiba, his older brother, had interrupted him. And that look he'd seen flash between the two siblings…

Point two: They hadn't seen or heard Kaiba wake up and run up the stairs while they were making breakfast. Sure, they'd been noisy but one of them would have seen _something_ come up from the basement and none of them had…

Point three: Kaiba was a mess. Joey had never seen Kaiba look anything but perfectly put together. But this morning his hair was sticking up in five different directions as if he hadn't bothered brushing it yet. Even Joey had done that before he'd gone to make breakfast. Kaiba's pyjama shirt was completely askew and the buttons weren't done up properly. Completely out of whack was more like it. And if he wasn't mistaken, there was some sort of oval bruise forming at the base of his neck. A bruise that looked suspiciously like a …

"Wheeler, it's Christmas morning. Even **I** sleep in on this one day every year. How dare you even think about waking Téa up at this ungodly hour to feed her whatever it is you're hiding under those plates…"

Kaiba's mouth kept moving but Joey didn't hear anything else he had to say. He was too busy processing what had just taken place.

Moneybags had called her Téa. Not Gardner, as he usually did.

Not **_Gardner_**.

Whoa…

Joey's eyes widened as the mantra in his head came to a screeching halt. No more excuses or reasons.

Joey knew.

Tristan watched as Joey's eyes burned and his nostrils flared. Something had just pissed him off beyond reason.

Yugi saw Joey's back stiffen and his hands clench around the handles of the tray he still carried. In fact, he was holding it so hard that his knuckles had turned white. If he didn't ease up soon, the tray was going to crack under the pressure.

Mokuba blanched at the soft curses Joey whispered under his breath. He was suddenly very afraid for his older brother.

Silence ruled in the hallway as Kaiba's words trailed off into nothingness.

Soft rustling noises seeped into the hallway from Téa's open bedroom door and an even softer voice damned everything Seto had been doing his best to try and hide.

"_**Seto, come back to bed. I'm cold**…"_

"You **_BASTARD!_**"

* * *

Hope you liked this chapter. Please leave a review to tell me what you thought of it. 

The last bit should be up by the end of the week. I hope...

As always, I am…

Aphrael21 ;)


	18. Chaos Unleashed

**Chapter 18 – Chaos Unleashed**

Chaos, the final frontier. Be afraid, be very afraid.

The last chapter, folks. Thanks for all of the awesome reviews. They were great encouragement when I started to lose faith in what I was writing about. Now it's time to start a new story. If you would like a sneak preview, just check out my profile page. Should be highly entertaining.

It's called "Advice from a 5,000-year-old Pharaoh". The title alone should give you a big hint… ;)

Now, on with the story…

* * *

_**Recap**_

_Moneybags had called her Téa. Not Gardner, as he usually did._

_Not **Gardner**._

_Whoa…_

_Joey's eyes widened as the mantra in his head came to a screeching halt. No more excuses or reasons. _

_Joey knew._

_Tristan watched as Joey's eyes burned and his nostrils flared. Something had just pissed him off beyond reason. _

_Yugi saw Joey's back stiffen and his hands clench around the handles of the tray he still carried. In fact, he was holding it so hard that his knuckles had turned white. If he didn't ease up soon, the tray was going to crack under the pressure._

_Mokuba blanched at the soft curses Joey whispered under his breath. He was suddenly very afraid for his older brother. _

_Silence ruled in the hallway as Kaiba's words trailed off into nothingness. _

_Soft rustling noises seeped into the hallway from Téa's open bedroom door and an even softer voice damned everything Seto had been doing his best to try and hide._

"_**Seto, come back to bed. I'm cold**…"_

"_You **BASTARD!**"_

* * *

The echo of Joey's words reverberated through the hallway and time seemed to stand still. The only thing he saw then and there was red. The crimson silk of Kaiba's pyjama top was a cape waved by a matador. And that little red spot on his neck was his focal point. It had to be a … Joey wouldn't even let himself think the word. It was too horrendous a thought. That she… and him… had done… **_stuff_**… A growl of unparalleled proportions broke the silence in the seconds after his outburst. The urge to bash him around with his head and toss him over his shoulder and down the stairs, breaking every bone in Seto Kaiba's miserable, traitorous body, viciously pulsated through his veins. How **dare** he!

The restraining hand on Joey's arm was the only thing that saved Kaiba from his wrath. Probably from having the breakfast tray thrown at his head as well. Tristan pulled hard, almost throwing himself off balance in the process. He knew how his blonde friend thought and the murderous rage in his eyes had given him enough of a warning to grab him before he made a complete ass out of himself. There was a time for anger and a time for rational thinking.

Joey was the type to hit first and ask questions later.

Not that Tristan didn't want to join in on the 'fun' but there had to be an explanation of some kind.

Mind-control, alcohol, drugs or… or… _something_. There was no way that this had happened voluntarily.

NO way.

"SETO!" Mokuba pushed past Joey, who was still fighting Tristan's hold on his arm, to step in front of his brother and spread his arms wide. There was no way anyone was going to hurt his big brother while he was around. He'd gone through enough trouble to try to keep everyone from finding out while giving them some 'alone time' that he wasn't going to have it ruined now by watching his brother get killed.

"Joey, calm down, man. What has gotten into you all of a sudden? Give me the tray before you hurt yourself, or someone else, with it." Tristan made a grab for the slipping tray without realizing that he'd given Joey a brilliant idea for getting Kaiba to bleed. With a ferocious twist that must have hurt like the dickens, Joey freed his arm from Tristan's grasp.

"You wanna know what's gotten inta me? **Kaiba**'s been messin' wit' **Téa**!" The words were fairly shouted across the intervening space and Seto almost winced at the underlying venom he sensed. "Dey **slept** together last night!"

"What are you talking…?" Joey's growl cut Tristan off mid-sentence.

"Look at him, Tris! He's not even tryin' t' deny it!"

Yugi's fruitless attempt to recapture Joey's arm only succeeded in making him overreach just enough to knock shoulders with Tristan. Both boys fell against the wall, the dull thud ricocheting down the hallway. No one could save Kaiba now.

"Mokuba, move! If I have to defend myself, I don't want you anywhere near here." Seto's only reaction to Joey's threat of violence was to widen his stance, giving himself better leverage should Joey decide to rush him. By the mad look in his eyes and the heavy grunting of his breathing, it was a serious possibility.

"No way, Seto. Joey's gonna **kill** you with his bare hands. Can't you see the crazy look in his eyes? I'm not going to let him murdalize you!" Mokuba spread his arms even wider, feet shoulder width apart and a determined look in his young eyes. Seto sighed as he realized that Mokuba was being serious. It touched him that his little brother was so protective but now was not the time for niceties. Shoving the younger Kaiba aside and behind, Seto stepped in front of him. One step closer to his own doom, or so it seemed.

"Joey, no! Téa'll kill you if you start something with that guy in the middle of her hallway on Christmas morning!" Yugi exclaimed, struggling to free himself from the tangled mess of Tristan's arms and legs. Nothing seemed to reach Joey. He'd gone beyond them all into a world of his own creation, one where he was going to satisfy his primitive, barbaric urge to beat Kaiba to a pulp for messing with his friend.

With a wordless, ear-splitting shriek that would have made a banshee proud, Joey prepared to launch himself at his own worst nemesis. It was high time that Kaiba paid for being such a jerk.

Everything seemed to go into slow motion right at that exact moment.

* * *

Téa's blue eyes, once blissfully closed in peaceful slumber, lazily drifted open as a particularly loud noise reached her ears. Her questing hand had come up empty as it searched fruitlessly for the comforting warmth of a solid wall of chest. A hazy memory of calling out to him surfaced in her mind as she shifted aside the comforter and awkwardly dragged herself out of bed.

'Maybe he got lost,' she thought sleepily before shuffling her feet forward to find her pink, fuzzy slippers. Fuzzy. That's exactly how her mind felt. Sleep still fogged her head as she ran her fingers through her hair, putting it into some semblance of order. The strange noises she was vaguely hearing didn't even register as she carefully made her way to her bedroom door.

* * *

Joey cocked his arm, heedless of the dishes clinking together, and prepared himself to throw the tray like a Frisbee. Gnashing his teeth together, he looked Kaiba straight in the eye. Not a single mote of fear crossed the other's vision and Joey's blood pressure rose another fifty points.

"NO!" Several different voices merged as one as a shadow crossed the light seeping in from Téa's open bedroom door. Yugi stretched his arm out, desperate to stop the impossible and hoping that somehow his arm would grow another three feet.

Alas, that didn't happen.

* * *

The door was open so Seto must have slipped out for some reason. The washroom was a possibility but she really hoped it was to go make a pot of coffee. That would be almost as good as snuggling with him would have been. Maybe there was a way to combine the two. Coffee and Seto together would be a deadly combination but so worth it. A quick glance at her bedside clock showed that it was 8:09 am. It was too early to be up but she was determined to find out what had happened to her boyfriend. He wouldn't leave her willingly, not with the possessive way he'd held her last night as they both drifted off to sleep.

Stepping across the threshold of her doorway, her eyes beheld a sight for sleepy eyes…

Crimson silk, dappled in the rays of morning light streaming from her room, draped the upper body of the man she was looking for and Téa smiled right then. The object of her deep affections must have been just about to come back to bed with her. Seto had heard her call for him after all. Only two feet separated them…

"There you are. I missed you," she mumbled happily, her bright, half-lidded eyes settling on Seto. Two steps closed the distance between them and he felt her arms gently encircle his waist and her cheek come to rest softly against his chest.

What was she thinking? Couldn't she see the bone-breaking, flesh-rending rage in Wheeler's eyes? Breaking eye contact with the mutt for a split second, Seto glanced down and noticed that now her eyes were closed and her breathing was slow and steady. It hit him then, why she was acting so strangely.

Téa Gardner was **not** a morning person.

She wasn't even fully conscious of her actions at that particularly tense moment in time.

* * *

Air whistled harshly between Joey's teeth. The tray trembled in response to his madness, coffee and water delicately splattering the linen napkin folded next to the plate of pancakes. If only his eyes could shoot laser beams and incinerate Kaiba where he stood… The bastard didn't even have the grace to be scared of Joey's towering need to obliterate the very essence of Seto Kaiba.

The muscles in his arm tensed and the shot was milliseconds away when the unthinkable happened.

**Téa**.

She wandered out of her room, mumbled something and calmly wrapped her arms around the biggest jerk in the world as if it were the most natural thing for her to do. By the look of her eyes, she didn't know where she was or what was going on. She didn't even see the rest of them in the hallway. Hadn't even **looked**, acknowledged their existence or anything like that. All of her attention had been focussed on Seto Kaiba.

Yugi and Yami looked on in absolute delight as the resolution in Kaiba's eyes changed. No longer chips of ice, they had softened as the girl had slipped her arms around him in an affectionate gesture. And they didn't have to hear her words to know that something special had passed between the two of them.

Mokuba wasn't impressed with Seto. He was old enough to take care of himself and to be shoved aside like that was almost an insult. Then again, he had better things to hold on to now that Téa had made her appearance. Guess he couldn't be too upset at his attempt to save his brother's life.

Then there was Tristan, who just couldn't comprehend what was happening in the first place. Kaiba should have been dead, or at the least completely comatose on the floor, by that point in time. Joey was unstoppable when he was that mad. Even Téa appearing like magic out of her bedroom shouldn't have been enough to deter him from his objective. Unless…

Seto could see tomorrow's newspaper headlines already. "_KaibaCorp. CEO Killed in Breakfast Tray Frenzy"_ Now there was a perfect way to be remembered by the world. Note the sarcasm of the thought. Not for his legacy as the creator of the Duel Disk System or one of the greatest players of Duel Monsters in the world. Definitely not. He'd much rather have the headlines read "_CEO Killed Protecting Loved One from Fatal Attack_". Love. Another word that shouldn't have existed in his vocabulary and yet it did. Strangely enough, he didn't mind it. One small four-letter word had skewed his entire world. That one word meant that he would rather take the brunt of Joey's attack if it spared Téa a single second of pain.

And he had done just that.

* * *

Mere seconds had passed since Téa showed up and yet, Joey's shot had never taken place. What he'd seen Kaiba do next had made his head reel in utter confusion.

Seto Kaiba, normally the cold, unfeeling bastard who made his life a living hell on a regular basis, had wrapped his arms around Téa and turned her away from Joey. Kaiba was offering his back as a target to the onslaught of the tray he figured was coming. There was no way that Kaiba could have missed Joey's intentions with it. And yet, he was letting himself continue to be the bullseye instead of putting Téa in harm's way.

Joey had seen the look in Kaiba's eyes just before he'd touched Téa and he could have sworn he'd seen something akin to the protectiveness he usually reserved for his little brother flash across them. Kaiba was shielding Téa from him. He was putting his own life in danger.

A braver act Joey had never witnessed which is why the tray had never left his hands. Kaiba could have done something completely different – shove her out of the way, shove her at Joey instead – and yet he hadn't done anything of the sort to save his own skin. He was willing to risk his own pain in the face of keeping her safe from harm.

Whoa.

Maybe he wasn't such a jerk after all.

Mokuba, Yugi, Yami and Tristan watched as Joey's anger simply melted away. The tenseness in the atmosphere dissolved as he lowered the tray from its' ready position.

A collective sigh of relief from all gathered echoed around the hallway.

"Kaiba, you're all right," Joey said, his voice soft with wonder at the noble gesture the elder Kaiba had made.

* * *

_**Half an hour later…**_

"… and that's how it all started," Téa finished before taking a sip of the coffee that rested in front of her. Seto squeezed her knee under the table and she couldn't help the flush that bloomed on her cheeks at the private gesture of affection. From what he'd said, he'd saved her from the wrath of a pissed off, tray-wielding Joey Wheeler. She honestly didn't remember anything until a few minutes after that supposed incident when she'd woken to find herself being held in his arms in the hallway with everyone staring at the two of them. Yugi had explained the reason for the staring – both of them had survived.

"Man, I still can't believe dat I didn't realize it from de beginnin'," Joey groused, his hand tousling through his blonde hair. "I just thought dat he was harassin' ya for info on Yugi's deck or sumptin' like that. Should have known better."

"Well, they **did** try to keep it hidden, Joey," Mokuba replied, trying to make his friend feel better for being so oblivious.

"At least I was right when I said I saw Kaiba at de mall." Joey turned to look at Kaiba as he sat next to Téa. From the blush on her cheeks, Kaiba had just done 'something' to her without anyone seeing. Great, now Joey had to protect her from the fact that Kaiba was guy. Being a guy himself, Joey knew what was on his mind.

"At least we know you're not a **total** ditz brain now," Tristan quipped, eyeing Joey sideways as he took a sip from his own mug of coffee.

'_What is a ditz brain? Is this another reference to the fact that Joey has blonde hair?' Yugi didn't even hear the Pharaoh's mental question as laughter consumed the table._

Merry Christmas.

* * *

There. It's finished. All done. Hope that everyone was satisfied with it. It's taken me a while to get it out. I had it half written before I completely re-did Téa's part in the whole scenario. Please leave a review and tell me what you thought of it.

It's only taken me an entire year to get the whole series out and now I have ideas for other stories that need to be worked out. Hopefully, those won't be nearly as long to finish. As I stated above, my profile page contains an excerpt from my next fic "Advice from a 5,000 Year-Old Pharaoh".

Thanks for everything – you guys rock!

Aphrael21;)


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